Human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 2 materials and methods

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a novel human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (hPARP2) polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides, expression constructs comprising the polynucleotides, and host cells transformed with the expression constructs. Also provided are methods for producing the hPARP2 polypeptides, antibodies that are immunoreactive with the hPARP2 polypeptides. In addition, there are provided methods for identifying specific binding partners of hPARP2, and more particularly methods for identifying binding partners that modulate biological activity of hPARP2. Methods of modulating biological activity of hPARP2 in vitro and in vivo are also provided.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/596,248, filed Jun. 16, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,727, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/139,543, filed Jun. 16, 1999.

The present invention relates generally to a novel human polypeptide having poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity, to polynucleotides encoding the polypeptide, and to methods of using such materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Regulation of gene function occurs by several mechanisms in eukaryotic cells. Amongst these mechanisms are gene transcription regulation, mRNA translation regulation, and post-translation modification of proteins. Post-translation modification of proteins includes several processes whereby proteins are covalently altered to affect cellular, sub-cellular localization, stability, transport, interaction specificity, enzymatic activity, and numerous other characteristics.

Common and extensively studied covalent modification processes include acetylation, glycosylation, and phosphorylation. Less well characterized is a process that involves the covalent addition of polymers of ADP-ribose to protein targets. The polymer is termed “poly(ADP-ribose),” and the enzyme(s) responsible for this activity have been variously called poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS), or ADP-ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) [Althaus and Richter, ADP-Ribosylation of Proteins: Enzymology and Biochemical Significance, Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics, Springer-Verlag (1987)]. A previously identified PARP gene product (hereinafter “PARP1”) is expressed at high levels in the nuclei of cells and is dependent upon DNA damage for activation [Szabó and Dawson, Trends Pharmacol Sci 19(7):287–98 (1998)]. Current models hypothesize that PARP1 binds to DNA single or double stranded breaks through an amino terminal DNA binding domain. The binding activates the carboxy terminal catalytic domain and results in the formation of polymers of ADP-ribose on target molecules. PARP1 is itself a target of polyADP-ribosylation by virtue of a centrally located automodification domain. The ribosylation of PARP1 causes dissociation of the PARP1 molecules from the DNA. The entire process of binding, ribosylation, and dissociation occurs very rapidly. It has been suggested that this transient binding of PARP1 to sites of DNA damage may result in the recruitment of DNA repair machinery or may act to suppress recombination long enough for the recruitment of repair machinery [Satoh and Lindahl, Nature 356(6367):356–8 (1992)].

The source of ADP-ribose for the PARP reaction is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is synthesized in cells from cellular ATP stores and thus high levels of activation of PARP activity can rapidly lead to depletion of cellular energy stores. It has been demonstrated that induction of PARP activity can lead to cell death that is correlated with depletion of cellular NAD and ATP pools [Yamamoto et al., Nature 294(5838):284–6 (1981); Sims et al., Biochemistry 22(22):5188–94 (1983)]. PARP activity is induced in many instances of oxidative stress or during inflammation. For example, during reperfusion of ischemic tissues reactive nitric oxide is generated and nitric oxide results in the generation of additional reactive oxygen species including hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrate and hydroxyl radical [Szabó, Eur J Pharmacol 350(1):1–19 (1998)]. These latter species can directly damage DNA and the resulting damage induces activation of PARP activity. Frequently, it appears that sufficient activation of PARP activity occurs so that the cell energy stores are depleted and the cell dies.

A similar mechanism is believed to operate during inflammation when endothelial cells and pro-inflammatory cells synthesize nitric oxide which results in oxidative DNA damage in surrounding cells and the subsequent activation of PARP activity [Szabó 1998, supra]. Such a mechanism is also believed to play a role in tissue damage associated with transient cerebral ischemia, in which excessive NMDA receptor activation mediates DNA damage, which induces excessive PARP activation [Lo et al., Stroke 29:830–6 (1998)]. The cell death that results from PARP activation is believed to be a major contributing factor in the extent of tissue damage that results from ischemia/reperfusion injury or from inflammation.

Two lines of evidence suggest that PARP activity is a critical element in those processes. First, chemical inhibitors of PARP activity have been successfully used to reduce tissue damage resulting in animal models of ischemia/reperfusion injury or inflammation. Second, mice in which both alleles of PARP1 have been disabled (PARP1 knockout mice) are resistant to numerous forms of ischemia/reperfusion injury and detrimental effects of inflammation. Because of those observations, potent small molecule inhibitors of PARP activity have great potential as clinical drug candidates in several indications.

The experimental data derived from the PARP1 knockout mice suggest that inhibitors of PARP1 function may be clinically beneficial. However, a recent report demonstrates that PARP1 knockout mice are not devoid of DNA damage-inducible PARP activity [Shieh et al., J Biol Chem 273(46):30069–72 (1998)]. A recently identified gene product, tankyrase, has been shown to have poly(ADP) ribosylation activity [Smith et al., Science 282(5393):1484–7 (1998)]. Tankyrase activity however, does not appear to be inducible by DNA damage and thus is unlikely to account for the activity observed in PARP1 knockout mice. It has been suggested that the residual DNA damage induced PARP activity in PARP1 knockout mice may be due to the activity of a second PARP gene, which has been identified in the mouse and named murine PARP2 [Shieh et al. (1998), supra]. The existence of multiple PARP genes in mammals suggests that appropriate drug design for human therapeutics requires the identification of additional human gene products with PARP activity. A gene comparable to mouse PARP2 has not previously been identified in humans.

In view of the above considerations, it is clear that existing knowledge is lacking with respect to cellular DNA repair mechanisms, signaling and induction of cell death in response to DNA damage, mechanisms of inflammation, and treatment of inflammation-mediated disease states. Thus, there exists a need in the art for the identification of additional human PARP-like molecules for use in determining the selectivity of therapeutics designed to inhibit PARP function and as targets in their own right for therapeutic intervention in human diseases. The profiling of PARP inhibitors on additional PARP gene products may allow for the PARP-selective drugs, which could be beneficial for particular indications, the reduction of undesirable side effects, or the targeting of therapeutics to selected tissues. Likewise, the identification of hPARP2 will allow for the development of hPARP2 specific therapeutics, which may also have benefits in terms of particular disease indications, the reduction of undesirable side effects, and the targeting of therapeutics to particular tissues. The identification of human hPARP2 would also allow for the development of drugs with the ability to inhibit both PARP activities that may also have therapeutic benefit. Other purposes and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to the artisan having ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has now been discovered that these and other purposes can be achieved by the present invention, which, in one aspect, is a purified and isolated hPARP2 polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:2 or a functional derivative thereof The invention also embraces hPARP2 polypeptides encoded by a polynucleotide which hybridizes under stringent (moderately or highly) conditions to the complement of the polynucleotide set out in SEQ ID NO: 2 and a polynucleotide which hybridizes under stringent (moderately or highly) conditions to the complement of a polynucleotide that encodes the polypeptide set out in SEQ ID NO: 1.

In another aspect, the invention further provides polynucleotides encoding the hPARP2 polypeptide defined in SEQ ID NO:2. Preferably, the polynucleotides comprise the nucleotide sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:1. Alternatively, the polynucleotides encoding an hPARP2 polypeptide can be polynucleotides that hybridize under moderately stringent hybridization conditions to the coding or non-coding strand of the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1 or a polynucleotide which hybridizes to the complement of a polynucleotide that encodes the polypeptide set out in SEQ ID NO: 2. In a preferred case, the polynucleotide hybridizes to the complement of the polynucleotide defined in SEQ ID NO:1, under stringent (moderately or highly) hybridization conditions, and encodes a protein that has poly(ADP) polymerase activity or interacts with damaged DNA. The polynucleotides of the invention may be DNA molecules or RNA molecules, and may optionally further comprise a detectable label moiety.

In another aspect, the invention provides expression constructs that comprise an hPARP2-encoding polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:1 or a polynucleotide which hybridizes to the complement of a polynucleotide that encodes the polypeptide set out in SEQ ID NO: 2. The hPARP2-encoding polynucleotide can be operatively linked to a heterologous promoter. Host cells transformed or transfected with an hparp2-based expression construct are also provided. Also contemplated are methods for producing a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:2, comprising the steps of:

-   -   a) growing hPARP2-expressing host cells under conditions         appropriate for expression of the polypeptide; and     -   b) isolating the polypeptide from the host cell or the medium in         which the host cell is grown.

The invention further provides antibodies that are specifically immunoreactive with the hPARP2 polypeptides described herein. As used herein, “specifically immunoreactive” antibodies embrace those which only recognize the polypeptide (or antibody, as discussed below) of the invention. The antibody can be selected from the group consisting of monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies, single chain antibodies (scFv antibodies), chimeric antibodies, multifunctional/multispecific antibodies, humanized antibodies, human antibodies, CDR-grafted antibodies, Fab fragments, Fab′ fragments, F(ab′)₂ fragments, Fv fragments, diabodies; linear antibodies; single-chain antibody molecules; and multispecific antibodies formed from antibody fragments. Also provided are cell lines that produce antibodies. Anti-idiotype antibodies specifically immunoreactive with an hPARP2-specific antibody are also contemplated.

In a further aspect, the invention is a method for identifying a specific binding partner of an hPARP2 polypeptide, comprising:

-   -   a) contacting the hPARP2 polypeptide with a test compound under         conditions that permit binding of the hPARP2 polypeptide and the         test compound;     -   b) detecting binding of the test compound and the hPARP2         polypeptide; and     -   c) identifying the test compound as a specific binding partner         of the hPARP2 polypeptide.         The specific binding partner is preferably a compound that         modulates a biological activity of the hPARP2 polypeptide.         Accordingly, the specific binding partner can be one that         inhibits a biological activity of the hPARP2 polypeptide.         Alternatively, the specific binding partner can be one that         enhances a biological activity of the hPARP2 polypeptide.

In still another aspect, the invention is a method for identifying a specific binding partner of an hparp2 polynucleotide, comprising:

-   -   a) contacting the hparp2 polynucleotide with a test compound         under conditions that permit binding of the hparp2         polynucleotide and the test compound;     -   b) detecting binding of the test compound and the hparp2         polynucleotide; and     -   c) identifying the test compound as a specific binding partner         of the hparp2 polynucleotide.         Thus, specific binding partner identified by the method is         preferably a compound that modulates expression of the hPARP2         polypeptide. The specific binding partner can be one that         inhibits expression of the hPARP2 polypeptide or one that         enhances expression of the hPARP2 polypeptide.

Furthermore, in another aspect, the invention is a method of treating a human subject having a medical condition mediated by a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, comprising administering to the subject an hPARP2 inhibitory compound in an amount effective for inhibiting hPARP2 in the subject. The method may further comprise administering to the subject an hPARP1 inhibitory compound in an amount effective for inhibiting hPARP1 in the subject.

In another aspect, the invention is a method of treating a human subject having a disorder selected from the group consisting of inflammatory disorders, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and disorders of neoplastic tissue growth. Preferably the disorder is an inflammatory disorder or is associated with inflammatory cell activation. For example, the medical condition can be a condition that is characterized by reperfusion injury. Illustrative disorders characterized by reperfusion injury include ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic shock, myocardial ischemia or infarction, transplantation, and cerebral vasospasm. Other disorders associated with inflammatory cell activation and amenable to treatment according to the methods of the invention include rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gouty arthritis, spondylitis; Behcet disease; sepsis, septic shock, endotoxic shock, gram negative sepsis, gram positive sepsis, toxic shock syndrome; multiple organ injury syndrome secondary to septicemia, trauma, or hemorrhage; allergic conjunctivitis, vernal conjunctivitis, uveitis, thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy; eosinophilic granuloma; asthma, chronic bronchitis, allergic, ARDS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, silicosis, pulmonary sarcoidosis, pleurisy, alveolitis, vasculitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, pulmonary oxygen toxicity; reperfusion injury of the myocardium, brain, or extremities; cystic fibrosis; keloid formation, scar tissue formation; atherosclerosis; systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis; Reynaud's syndrome; graft versus host disease, allograft rejection; chronic glomerulonephritis; inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, necrotizing enterocolitis; inflammatory dermatoses, contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, urticaria, fever and myalgias due to infection; meningitis, encephalitis, and brain or spinal cord injury due to minor trauma; Sjögren's syndrome; diseases involving leukocyte diapedesis; alcoholic hepatitis; bacterial pneumonia; antigen-antibody complex mediated diseases; hypovolemic shock; Type I diabetes mellitus; acute and delayed hypersensitivity; disease states due to leukocyte dyscrasia and metastasis; thermal injury; granulocyte transfusion associated syndromes; and cytokine-induced toxicity.

The invention, in still another aspect, is a method of inhibiting poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in a cell, comprising contacting said cell with an hPARP2 antagonist in an amount effective for inhibiting expression or activity of the hPARP2 polypeptide.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated from the detailed description and examples that are set forth herein. The detailed description and examples are provided to enhance the understanding of the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates generally to a previously uncharacterized nucleic acid encoding a novel human protein designated “human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 2” (hereinafter “hPARP2”). As illustrated herein hPARP2 is distinct from known proteins sharing a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. The present invention is based on the discovery of novel gene that encodes the hPARP2 protein, and nucleic acid sequences, oligonucleotides, fragments, and antisense molecules thereof.

The nucleotide sequence information provided by the invention makes possible large-scale expression of the encoded hPARP2 polypeptide by techniques well known and routinely practiced in the art. The invention also permits identification and isolation of polynucleotides encoding related hPARP2 polypeptides by well-known techniques including Southern (DNA) and/or northern (mRNA) hybridization, and amplification techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), ligase chain reaction (LCR), and the like. Examples of related polynucleotides include human and non-human parp2 genomic sequences, including allelic variants, as well as polynucleotides encoding polypeptides homologous to hPARP2 and structurally related polypeptides sharing one or more biological, immunological, and/or physical properties of hPARP2.

The invention includes both naturally-occurring and non-naturally occurring hPARP2 polynucleotides and polypeptide products thereof. Naturally-occurring hPARP2 products include distinct polynucleotide and polypeptide hPARP2 species as they occur in humans. However, the invention includes other human hPARP2 species defined through the analysis of sequence homology. The invention further comprises corresponding homologs of human hPARP2 that are expressed in cells of other animal species, preferably mammalian homologs, and more preferably primate homologs. Within each hPARP2 species, the invention further provides splice variants, which are encoded by the same genomic DNA but arise from distinct mRNA transcripts. Non-naturally occurring hPARP2 products include variants of the naturally occurring hPARP2 products such as polynucleotide and polypeptide analogs (i.e., wherein one or more nucleotides or amino acids are added, substituted, or deleted). Non-naturally-occurring hPARP2 products also include hPARP2 products that have been covalently modified, e.g., water-soluble polymer modifications, glycosylation variants, and the like.

The hPARP polypeptides and the nucleic acids that encode the polypeptides provide a basis for diagnostic methods for the precise and accurate detection and/or quantitation of hPARP2 expression and medical conditions associated with excessive or insufficient hPARP2 activity. Furthermore, the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein may be used in the detection of aberrations, such as mutations and deletions, in the gene encoding hPARP2. For example, the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein may be used to identify and isolate a genomic sequence for hparp2. PCR primers can be designed from various portions of the introns and exons of a genomic hparp2 nucleic acid sequence that will allow detection of aberrations in the genomic sequence.

The invention further provides methods of using hPARP2 and genetically engineered host cells that express recombinant hPARP2 to evaluate and screen for modulators of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of the enzyme. Such screening methods may be used for the identification of allosteric agonists and antagonists of hPARP2 activity as well as for the identification of direct (e.g., competitive inhibitors) of such activity. hPARP2 protein antagonists and inhibitors, such as anti-hPARP2 antibodies and hparp2 antisense molecules, will provide the basis for pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment and amelioration of symptoms associated with excessive poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. Agonists of hPARP2 will provide the basis of the treatment and amelioration of symptoms associated with insufficient poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity.

hparp2 Polynucleotides

The present invention provides, inter alia, novel purified and isolated polynucleotides encoding human hPARP2 polypeptides. The polynucleotides of the invention include DNA sequences and RNA transcripts, both sense and complementary antisense strands, and splice variants thereof. DNA sequences of the invention include, without limitation, cDNA and genomic sequences. As used herein, lower case “hparp2” refers to a nucleic acid sequence whereas upper case “hPARP2” refers to an amino acid sequence.

“Nucleic acid” as used herein refers to an oligonucleotide or polynucleotide sequence, and fragments or portions thereof, and to DNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic origin, which may be double-stranded or single-stranded, whether representing the sense or antisense strand. An exemplary double-stranded polynucleotide according to the invention can have a first strand (i.e., a coding strand) having a sequence encoding an hPARP2 polypeptide, along with a second strand (i.e., a “complementary” or “non-coding” strand) having a sequence deducible from the first strand according to the Watson-Crick base-pairing rules for DNA. Double-stranded or “duplex” structures may be DNA:DNA, DNA:RNA, or RNA:RNA nucleic acids. A preferred double-stranded polynucleotide is a cDNA having a nucleotide sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:1. An exemplary single-stranded polynucleotide according to the invention is a messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding an hPARP2 polypeptide. Another exemplary single-stranded polynucleotide is an oligonucleotide probe or primer that hybridizes to the coding or non-coding strand of a polynucleotide defined by SEQ ID NO:1. Other alternative nucleic acid structures, e.g., triplex structures, are also contemplated.

Genomic DNA of the invention comprises the protein-coding region for an hPARP2 polypeptide and includes allelic variants of the preferred polynucleotides of the invention, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms. Genomic DNA of the invention is distinguishable from genomic DNAs encoding polypeptides other than hPARP2 in that it includes the hPARP2-coding region found in hparp2 cDNA of the invention. Genomic DNA can be transcribed into RNA, and the resulting RNA transcript may undergo one or more splicing events wherein one or more introns (i.e., non-coding regions) of the transcript are removed, or “spliced out.” RNA transcripts that can be spliced by alternative mechanisms and therefore be subjected to removal of different non-coding RNA sequences but still encode an hPARP2 polypeptide, are referred to in the art as “splice variants,” and are embraced by the invention. Splice variants comprehended by the invention, therefore, are encoded by the same DNA sequences but give rise to different amino acid sequences. Such splice variants can comprise regions in which the reading frame is shifted, wherein a downstream portion of the RNA sequence is translated differently, to yield different amino acid sequences in the resulting polypeptides. Allelic variants are known in the art to be modified forms of the wild-type (predominant) gene sequence. Such modifications result from recombination during chromosomal segregation or exposure to conditions that give rise to genetic mutation. Allelic variants, like wild-type genes, are naturally occurring sequences, as opposed to non-naturally occurring variants, which arise from in vitro manipulation.

The invention also comprehends cDNA, which is obtained through reverse transcription of an RNA polynucleotide encoding hPARP2 followed by second strand synthesis of a complementary strand to provide a double stranded DNA. For example, the invention provides a cDNA sequence that encodes a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:2. In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:1.

In another aspect, the invention provides, inter alia, polynucleotides that encode polypeptides comprising amino acids 49–583, and preferably amino acids 1–583, of the amino acid sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:2. Alternatively, the invention provides polynucleotides that encode polypeptides comprising amino acids 1–49 of the amino acid sequence defined SEQ ID NO:2. Exemplary polynucleotides relating to this aspect of the invention include polynucleotides comprising at least nucleotides 209–1811, and preferably nucleotides 63–1811, of the nucleotide sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:1. Alternative exemplary polynucleotides comprise nucleotides 1–209 or 63–209 of the nucleotide sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:1. Preferably, the polynucleotides encode an hPARP2 polypeptide or fragments thereof having hPARP2 catalytic activity.

As noted, highly preferred nucleic acid sequence according to the invention is defined by SEQ ID NO:1. However, because the genetic code is redundant or “degenerate” in its information-encoding properties, different nucleotide sequences may encode the same polypeptide sequence. Accordingly, the invention comprises the alternative (degenerate) nucleotide sequences that encode hPARP2 polypeptides of the invention and functional equivalents thereof. For example, the invention includes polynucleotides comprising nucleotide sequences that are substantially homologous to the hparp2 sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. More particularly, the invention includes polynucleotides whose corresponding nucleotide sequences have at least 90%, preferably at least 95%, more preferably at least 98%, and still more preferably at least 99% identity with a nucleotide sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:1.

Variant polynucleotides of the invention further include fragments of the nucleotide sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:1 and homologs thereof. The disclosure of full-length polynucleotides encoding hPARP2 polypeptides makes readily available to the person having ordinary skill in the art every possible fragment of the full-length polynucleotides. Preferably, fragment polynucleotides of the invention comprise sequences unique to the hPARP2-coding nucleotide sequence, and therefore hybridize under highly stringent or moderately stringent conditions only (i.e., specifically) to polynucleotides encoding hPARP2 or fragments thereof containing the unique sequence. Polynucleotide fragments of genomic sequences of the invention comprise not only sequences unique to the coding region, but also include fragments of the full-length sequence derived from introns, regulatory regions, and/or other untranslated sequences. Sequences unique to polynucleotides of the invention are recognizable through sequence comparison to other known polynucleotides, and can be identified through use of computer software routinely used in the art, e.g., alignment programs available in public sequence databases.

The invention also provides fragment polynucleotides that are conserved in one or more polynucleotides encoding members of the hPARP2 family of polypeptides. Such fragments include sequences characteristic of the family of hPARP2 polypeptides, referred to as “signature” sequences. The conserved signature sequences are readily discernable following simple sequence comparison of polynucleotides encoding members of the hPARP2 family. Polynucleotide fragments of the invention can be labeled in a manner that permits their detection, including radioactive and non-radioactive labeling.

Hybridization can be defined to include the process of forming partially or completely double-stranded nucleic acid molecules through sequence-specific association of complementary single-stranded nucleic molecules. The invention, therefore, further encompasses the use of nucleic acid species that hybridize to the coding or non-coding strands of a polynucleotide that encodes an hPARP2 protein. Preferred hybridizing species hybridize to the coding or non-coding strand of the nucleotide sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:1. Also encompassed are species that would hybridize to an hPARP2-encoding polynucleotide but for the redundancy of the genetic code, i.e., polynucleotides that encode the same amino acid sequence but rely on different codon usage.

Hybridizing species include, for example, nucleic acid hybridization or amplification probes (oligonucleotides) that are capable of detecting nucleotide sequences (e.g., genomic sequences) encoding hPARP2 or closely related molecules, such as alleles. The specificity of the probe, i.e., whether it is derived from a highly conserved, conserved, or non-conserved region or domain, and the stringency of the hybridization or amplification conditions (high, intermediate, or low) will determine whether the probe identifies only naturally occurring hparp2, or related sequences. Probes for the detection of related nucleotide sequences are selected from conserved or highly conserved regions of hparp2 family members and such probes may be used in a pool of degenerate probes. For the detection of identical nucleotide sequences, or where maximum specificity is desired, oligonucleotide probes are selected from the non-conserved nucleotide regions or unique regions of hparp2 polynucleotides. As used herein, the term “non-conserved nucleotide region” refers to a nucleotide region that is unique to hparp2 disclosed herein and does not occur in related hparp2 family members.

Specificity of hybridization is typically characterized in terms of the degree of stringency of the conditions under which the hybridization is performed. The degree of stringency of hybridization conditions can refer to the melting temperature (T_(m)) of the nucleic acid binding complex [see, e.g., Berger and Kimmel, “Guide to Molecular Cloning Techniques,” Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 152, Academic Press, San Diego Calif. (1987)]. “Maximal stringency” typically occurs at about T_(m)−5° C. (5° C. below the T_(m) of the probe); “high stringency” at about 5° C. to 10° C. below T_(m); “intermediate stringency” at about 10° C. to 20° C. below T_(m); and “low stringency” at about 20° C. to 25° C. below T_(m).

Alternatively, the stringency of hybridization can refer to the physicochemical conditions employed in the procedure. To illustrate, exemplary moderately stringent hybridization conditions are: hybridization in 3× saline sodium citrate (SSC), 0.1% sarkosyl, and 20 mM sodium phosphate, pH 6.8, at 65° C.; and washing in 2×SSC with 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), at 65° C. Exemplary highly stringent hybridization conditions are: hybridization in 50% formamide, 5×SSC, at 42° C. overnight, and washing in 0.5×SSC and 0.1% SDS, at 50° C. It is understood in the art that conditions of equivalent stringency can be achieved through variation of temperature and buffer, or salt concentration [see Ausubel et al. (Eds.), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons (1994), at pp. 6.0.3–6.4.10]. Modifications in hybridization conditions can be determined empirically or calculated precisely based on the length of the oligonucleotide probe and the percentage of guanosine/cytosine (GC) base pairing of the probe. The hybridization conditions can be calculated as described in Sambrook et al., (Eds.), Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989), at pp. 9.47–9.51.

The artisan will appreciate that hybridization under more stringent conditions enables the identification of species having a higher degree of homology or sequence identity with the target sequence. By contrast, hybridization under less stringent conditions enables identification of species having a lesser but still significant degree of homology or sequence identity with the target sequence. Therefore, also included within the scope of the present invention are nucleic acid species that are capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 under conditions of intermediate (moderate) to maximal stringency. Preferably, the hybridizing species hybridize to the coding or non-coding strands of a polynucleotide defined by SEQ ID NO:1 under highly stringent conditions. Preferred polynucleotides include, inter alia, species that hybridize to a nucleic acid sequence consisting of nucleotides 1 to 209 as defined by SEQ ID NO:1 or the complement of that region under conditions of moderate stringency, and more preferably that do so under conditions of high stringency. Other preferred polynucleotides are species that hybridize to a nucleic acid sequence consisting of nucleotides 63 to 209 as defined by SEQ ID NO:1 or the complement of that region under conditions of moderate stringency, and more preferably that do so under conditions of high stringency.

The polynucleotides of the invention encompass oligonucleotides (i.e., nucleic acid oligomers typically about 10 to 60 nucleotides in length) that hybridize to either the coding or the non-coding strands of a nucleic acid encoding an hPARP2 amino acid sequence. In particular, the invention comprises oligonucleotides that hybridize to the coding or non-coding strand of a polynucleotide defined by SEQ ID NO:1. The length of the oligonucleotide is not critical, as long as it is capable of hybridizing to the target nucleic acid molecule. However, longer nucleic acid molecules are more difficult to prepare and require longer hybridization times. Therefore, the oligonucleotide should not be longer than necessary. Accordingly, the oligonucleotide should contain at least 10 nucleotides, preferably at least 15 nucleotides, and more preferably at least 20 nucleotides. Normally, the oligonucleotide will not contain more than 60 nucleotides, preferably not more than 30 nucleotides, and more preferably not more than 25 nucleotides. Such oligonucleotides may be used as described herein as primers for DNA synthesis (e.g., as primers in PCR; “amplimers”), as probes for detecting the presence of target DNA in a sample (e.g., northern or Southern blots and in situ hybridization), as therapeutic agents (e.g., in antisense therapy), or for other purposes. Oligonucleotides may be single- or double-stranded, with the double-stranded forms having one or both ends blunt or stepped.

The oligonucleotides may be obtained or derived by known methods from natural sources. Alternatively, the oligonucleotides may be produced synthetically according to methods known in the art. Such methods include, for example, cloning and restriction of appropriate sequences or direct chemical synthesis by any suitable method. Various chemical methods for making oligonucleotides are known in the art, including the phosphotriester method, the phosphodiester method; the diethylphosphoramidite method; the solid support method, and the H-phosphonate method [for reviews, see Caruthers, Science 230:281–5 (1985); Caruthers et al., Methods Enzymol 211:3–20 (1992)]. Typically, preparation of oligonucleotides is carried out by automated phosphoramidite synthesis on polymer support. Nucleic acid molecules consisting of 100 or more nucleotides may also be produced by such methods.

The hparp2 polynucleotides of the invention include variants, which are polynucleotides that encode hPARP2 or a functional equivalent thereof, and which can include deletions, insertions, or substitutions of nucleotide residues. As used herein a “deletion” is a change in a nucleotide or amino acid sequence in which one or more nucleotides or amino acid residues, respectively, are absent. As used herein an “insertion” or “addition” is a change in a nucleotide or amino acid sequence that results in the addition of one or more nucleotides or amino acid residues, respectively. As used herein a “substitution” is a change in a nucleotide or amino acid sequence in which one or more nucleotides or amino acids are replaced by different nucleotides or amino acids, respectively.

Polynucleotide variants also included within the scope of the present invention are alleles or alternative naturally occurring forms of hparp2. Alleles result from naturally occurring mutations, i.e., deletions, insertions or substitutions, in the genomic nucleotide sequence, which may or may not alter the structure or function or the expressed polypeptides. Each of these types of mutational changes may occur alone, or in combination with the others, one or more times in a given allelic sequence. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may occur, in which a single base mutation may define an altered polypeptide, which in turn may be associated with an overt phenotypic difference. Of course, SNPs may be silent, as they may not change the encoded polypeptide, or any change they do encode may have no effect on phenotype.

The invention further embraces natural homologs of the human parp2 DNA that occur in other animal species, preferably other mammal species, and more preferably other primate species. Such species homologs, in general, share significant homology at the nucleotide level within the protein-coding regions. Thus, the invention encompasses polynucleotides that share at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% nucleotide identity with the protein-coding region of a polynucleotide encoding a human hPARP2 polypeptide, e.g., the polynucleotide defined by SEQ ID NO:1. Percent sequence “homology” with respect to polynucleotides of the invention can be defined as the percentage of nucleotide bases in a candidate sequence that are identical to nucleotides in the hPARP2-encoding sequence after aligning the sequences and introducing gaps, if necessary, to achieve maximum percent sequence identity. Computer software is available (from commercial and public domain sources) for calculating percent identity in an automated fashion (e.g., FASTA).

The invention includes polynucleotides that have been engineered to selectively modify the cloning, processing, and/or expression of the hPARP2 gene product. Mutations may be introduced using techniques well known in the art, e.g., site-directed mutagenesis to insert new restriction sites, to alter glycosylation patterns, or to change codon preferences inherent in the use of certain expression systems, while simultaneously maintaining control of the amino acid sequence of the expressed polypeptide product. For example, codons preferred by a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cell can be selected to increase the rate of hPARP2 expression or to produce recombinant RNA transcripts having desirable properties, such as longer half-lives.

The hparp2 polynucleotides can be synthesized, wholly or partly, using chemical methods well known in the art. “Chemically synthesized,” as used herein and is understood in the art, refers to purely chemical, as opposed to enzymatic, methods for producing polynucleotides. “Wholly” chemically synthesized DNA sequences are therefore produced entirely by chemical means; “partly” chemically synthesized DNAs embrace those wherein only portions of the resulting DNA were produced by chemical means.

DNA molecules may be modified to increase intracellular stability and half-life. Possible modifications include, but are not limited to, the addition of flanking sequences of the 5′ and/or 3′ ends of the molecule or the use of phosphorothioate or 2′ O-methyl rather than phosphodiester linkages within the backbone of the molecule.

The invention also provides hPARP2 peptide nucleic acid (PNA) molecules. These hPARP2 PNAs are informational molecules that have a neutral “peptide-like” backbone with nucleobases that allow the molecules to hybridize to complementary hPARP2-encoding DNA or RNA with higher affinity and specificity than corresponding oligonucleotides (PerSeptive Biosystems).

Polypeptide Expression Systems

Knowledge of hPARP2-encoding DNA sequences enables the artisan to modify cells to permit or increase expression of hPARP2. Accordingly, host cells are provided, including prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells, either stably or transiently modified by introduction of a polynucleotide of the invention to permit expression of the encoded hPARP2 polypeptide. Autonomously replicating recombinant expression constructs such as plasmid and viral DNA vectors incorporating hPARP2-encoding sequences are also provided.

Expression constricts are also provided comprising hPARP2-encoding polynucleotides operatively linked to an endogenous or exogenous expression control DNA sequence and a transcription terminator. Expression control DNA sequences include promoters, enhancers, and operators, and are generally selected based on the expression systems in which the expression construct is to be used. Preferred promoter and enhancer sequences are generally selected for the ability to increase gene expression, while operator sequences are generally selected for the ability to regulate gene expression. Preferred constructs of the invention also include sequences necessary for replication in a host cell. Expression constructs are preferably used for production of an encoded hPARP2 polypeptide, but may also be used to amplify the construct itself.

Polynucleotides of the invention may be introduced into the host cell as part of a circular plasmid, or as linear DNA comprising an isolated protein coding region or a viral vector. Methods for introducing DNA in to a host cell include transformation, transfection, electroporation, nuclear injection, or fusion with carriers such as liposomes, micelles, ghost cells, and protoplasts. Expression systems of the invention include, for example, bacteria, yeast, fungal, plant, insect, invertebrate, amphibian, and mammalian cell systems. Some suitable prokaryotic host cells include, for example, E. coli strains SG-936, HB 101, W3110, X1776, X2282, DHI, and MRC1, Pseudomonas species, Bacillus species such as B. subtilis, and Streptomyces species. Suitable eukaryotic host cells include yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. pombe, Pichia pastoris and other fungi, insect cells such as sf9 or sf21 cells (Spodoptera frugiperda), animal cells such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, human cells such as JY, 293, and NIH3T3 cells, and plant cells such as Arabidopsis thaliana cells. The hparp2 nucleotide sequence, or any portion of it, may be cloned into a vector for the production of an mRNA probe. Such vectors are known in the art, are commercially available, and may be used to synthesize RNA probes in vitro by addition of labeled nucleotides and an appropriate RNA polymerase such as T7, T3, or SP6.

The type of host cell, the form of the expressed hPARP2 product, the conditions of growth, etc., can be selected by the skilled artisan according to known criteria. Use of mammalian host cells is expected to provide for such post-translational modifications (e.g., glycosylation, truncation, lipidation, and phosphorylation) as may be needed to confer optimal biological activity on recombinant expression products of the invention. Glycosylated and non-glycosylated forms of hPARP2 polypeptides are embraced. The protein produced by a recombinant cell may be secreted or may be contained intracellularly, depending on the sequence and/or the vector used. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, expression vectors containing hparp2 can be designed with signal sequences that direct secretion of hPARP2 through a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell membrane.

Expression constructs may include sequences that facilitate, and preferably promote, homologous recombination in a host cell. This can be accomplished by replacing all or part of the naturally occurring hparp2 promoter with all or part of a heterologous promoter so that the cells express hPARP2 at higher levels. The heterologous promoter should be inserted so that it is operatively linked to hPARP2-encoding sequences [see, for example, PCT International Publication Nos. WO 94/12650, WO 92/20808, and WO 91/09955].

Host cells of the invention are useful in methods for large-scale production of hPARP2 polypeptide products. For example, host cells of the invention are a valuable source of immunogen for development of antibodies that are immunoreactive with hPARP2 polypeptides. As another example, recombinant hPARP2 can be produced and isolate from host cells for use in in vitro binding assays such as drug screening assays. In such methods, the host cells are grown in a suitable culture medium and the desired polypeptide product is isolated from the cells or from the medium in which the cells are grown.

The polypeptide product can be isolated by purification methods known in the art, such as conventional chromatographic methods including immunoaffinity chromatography, receptor affinity chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, lectin affinity chromatography, size exclusion filtration, cation or anion exchange chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), reverse phase HPLC, and the like.

Still other methods of purification include those in which the desired protein is expressed and purified as a fusion protein in which the hPARP2 polypeptide is ligated to a heterologous amino acid sequence. Suitable heterologous sequences can include a specific tag, label, or chelating moiety that is recognized by a specific binding partner or agent. For example, for screening of peptide libraries for modulators of hPARP2 activity, it is possible to express an hPARP2 protein fused to a selected heterologous protein selected to be specifically identifiable using a probe antibody. A fusion protein may also be engineered to contain a cleavage site (e.g., a factor XA or enterokinase sensitive sequence) located between the hPARP2 sequence and the heterologous protein sequence, to permit the hPARP2 protein to be cleaved from the heterologous protein and subsequently purified. Cleavage of the fusion component may produce a form of the desired protein having additional amino acid residues resulting from the cleavage process.

Exemplary heterologous peptide domains include metal-chelating peptides such as histidine-tryptophan modules that allow purification on immobilized metals [Porath, Protein Expr Purif 3:263–81 (1992)], and protein A domains that allow purification on immobilized immunoglobulin. Another useful system is the divalent cation-binding domain and antibodies specific thereto used in the peptide extension/immunoaffinity purification system described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,703,004; 4,782,137; 4,851,431; and 5,011,912. This system is commercially available as the FLAG® system from Immunex Corp. (Seattle, Wash.). Another suitable heterologous fusion partner is glutathione S-transferase (GST), which can be affinity purified using immobilized glutathione. Other useful fusion partners include immunoglobulins and fragments thereof, e.g., Fc fragments.

Identification of host cells expressing recombinant hPARP2 may be crucial to identifying appropriate expression systems. Accordingly, expression constructs of the invention may also include sequences encoding one or more selectable markers that permit identification of host cells bearing the construct in operative condition. It is also contemplated that, in addition to the insertion of heterologous promoter DNA, amplifiable marker DNA (e.g., ada, dhfr, and the multifunctional CAD gene that encodes carbamyl phosphate synthase, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase) and/or intron DNA may be inserted along with the heterologous promoter DNA. If linked to the hPARP2-encoding sequence, amplification of the marker DNA by standard selection methods results in co-amplification of the hPARP2-encoding sequences in the cells. Detection of expression of the marker gene in response to induction or selection usually indicates expression of hPARP2 as well. Alternatively, if the hparp2 polynucleotide is inserted within a marker gene sequence, recombinant cells containing hparp2 can be identified by the absence of marker gene function.

Host cells that contain the coding sequence for hPARP2 and express hPARP2 may be identified by a variety of other procedures known to those of skill in the art. These procedures include, but are not limited to, DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization and protein bioassay or immunoassay techniques that include membrane-based, solution-based, or chip-based technologies for the detection and/or quantification of the nucleic acid or protein.

The presence of the hparp2 polynucleotide sequence can be detected by DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization or amplification using fragments of hparp2 disclosed in SEQ ID NO:1 as probes. Nucleic acid amplification based assays involve the use of oligonucleotides based on the hparp2 sequence to detect transformants containing hparp2 DNA or RNA. Labeled hybridization or PCR probes for detecting hparp2 polynucleotide sequences can be made by various methods, including oligolabeling, nick translation, end-labeling, or PCR amplification using a labeled nucleotide.

In an embodiment of the present invention, hPARP2 or a variant thereof and/or a host cell line that expresses the hPARP2 or variant thereof may be used to screen for antibodies, peptides, or other molecules, such as organic or inorganic molecules, that act as modulators of a biological or immunological activity of hPARP2. For example, anti-hPARP2 antibodies capable of neutralizing the polymerase or DNA-binding activity of hPARP2 may be used to inhibit hPARP2-mediated cell death. Alternatively, screening of peptide libraries or organic libraries made by combinatorial chemistry with recombinantly expressed hPARP2 or variants thereof or cell lines expressing hPARP2 or variants thereof may be useful for identification of therapeutic molecules that function by modulating a biological or immunological activity of hPARP2. Synthetic compounds, natural products, and other sources of potentially biologically active material can be screened in a number of ways deemed routine by those of skill in the art. For example, nucleotide sequences encoding the DNA-binding domain of hPARP2 may be expressed in a host cell, which can be used for screening of allosteric modulators, either agonists or antagonists, of hPARP2 activity. Alternatively, nucleotide sequences encoding the conserved catalytic domain of hPARP2 can be expressed in host cells and used to screen for inhibitors of ADP-ribose polymerization. hPARP2 Polypeptides

The invention also provides purified and isolated mammalian hPARP2 polypeptides. An exemplary hPARP2 polypeptide has an amino acid sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:2. hPARP2 polypeptides of the invention may be isolated from natural cell sources or may be chemically synthesized, but are preferably produced by recombinant procedures involving host cells of the invention. hPARP2 products of the invention may be full-length polypeptides, or variant polypeptide products such as fragments, truncates, deletion mutants, and other variants thereof that retain specific hPARP2 biological activity. As used herein, “biologically active” refers to an hPARP2 polypeptide having structural, regulatory or biochemical functions of the naturally occurring hPARP2 protein. Specifically, an hPARP2 protein of the present invention has the ability to bind DNA and to polymerize ADP-ribose subunits in response to DNA damage in a cell.

The protein and fragments of the present invention may be prepared by methods known in the art. Such methods include isolating the protein directly from cells, isolating or synthesizing DNA encoding the protein and using the DNA to produce recombinant protein, and synthesizing the protein chemically from individual amino acids.

The hPARP2 polypeptides can be isolated from a biological sample, such as a solubilized cell fraction, by standard methods. Some suitable methods include precipitation and liquid chromatographic protocols such as ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and gel filtration [see, e.g., Deutscher (Ed.), Methods Enzymol (Guide to Protein Chemistry, Section VII) 182:309 (1990); Scopes, Protein Purification, Springer-Verlag, New York (1987)]. Alternatively, purified material is obtained by separating the protein on preparative SDS-PAGE gels, slicing out the band of interest and electroeluting the protein from the polyacrylamide matrix by methods known in the art. The detergent SDS is removed from the protein by known methods, such as by dialysis or the use of a suitable column, such as the Extracti-Gel® column (Pierce).

The hPARP2 polypeptide of the invention may also be chemically synthesized, wholly or partly, by methods known in the art. Suitable methods for synthesizing the protein are described in the art [e.g., Stuart and Young, Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis, 2d ed., Pierce Chemical Co. (1984)]. For example, peptides can be synthesized by solid phase techniques, cleaved from the resin, and purified by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [see, e.g., Roberge et al., Science 269:202–4 (1995)]. Automated synthesis may be accomplished, for example, using the ABI 431 A Peptide Synthesizer (Perkin Elmer, Norwalk, Conn.) in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer. The composition of the synthetic peptides may be confirmed by amino acid analysis or sequencing (e.g., the Edman degradation procedure).

As described in greater detail above, recombinant hPARP2 protein may be produced in and isolated from a host cell transformed with an expression vector containing an hparp2 nucleotide sequence and grown in cell culture. As described herein, the host cells, either prokaryotic or eukaryotic, are either stably or transiently transfected (eukaryotic) or transformed (prokaryotic) with an hPARP2-encoding polynucleotide of the invention in a manner that permits directed expression of an hPARP2 polypeptide. In such methods, the host cells are grown in a suitable culture medium and the desired polypeptide products are isolated from the cells or from the medium in which the cells are grown. Isolation of the polypeptides can be accomplished by, for example, immunoaffinity purification. The use of transformed host cells is preferred for large-scale production of hPARP2 polypeptides.

The invention includes polypeptides comprising amino acid sequences that are substantially homologous to the sequences of hPARP2 polypeptides described herein. For example, the invention includes polypeptides whose corresponding amino acid sequences have at least 90%, preferably at least 95%, more preferably at least 98%, and still more preferably at least 99% identity with the polypeptide sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:2.

Percent sequence “identity” with respect to a preferred polypeptide of the invention can be defined as the percentage of amino acid residues in a candidate sequence that are identical to amino acid residues in the reference hPARP2 sequence after aligning the sequences and introducing gaps, if necessary, to achieve maximum percent sequence identity, and not considering any conservative substitutions as part of the sequence identity.

Percent sequence “homology” with respect to a preferred polypeptide of the invention can be defined as the percentage of amino acid residues in a candidate sequence that are identical to amino acid residues in the reference hPARP2 sequence after aligning the sequences and introducing gaps, if necessary, to achieve maximum percent sequence identity, and also considering any conservative substitutions as part of the sequence identity.

Determinations of whether two amino acid sequences are substantially homologous can also be based on FASTA searches [Pearson et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85:2444–8 (1988)]. Alternatively, percent homology is calculated as the percentage of amino acid residues in the smaller of the two sequences that align with identical amino acid residues in the sequence being compared, when four gaps in a length of 100 amino acids may be introduced to maximize alignment. See Dayhoff, in Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure, Vol. 5, National Biochemical Research Foundation, Washington, D.C. (1972), at p. 124.

A polypeptide may be considered homologous to an hPARP2 polypeptide of the invention if polynucleotides encoding the two polypeptides hybridize with one another. A higher degree of homology is shown if the hybridization occurs under hybridization conditions of greater stringency. Control of hybridization conditions and the relationships between hybridization conditions and degree of homology are understood by those skilled in the art. See, e.g., Sambrook et al. (1989). Thus, a homologous polypeptide may be a polypeptide that is encoded by a polynucleotide that hybridizes with a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the invention under hybridization conditions having a specified degree of stringency.

It may be desirable that such structurally homologous polypeptides will also exhibit functional homology, insofar as the homologous polypeptide has substantially the same function as the polyeptide of the invention. For example, structurally homologous polypeptides may be considered functionally homologous if they exhibit similar binding of a ligand, or similar immune reactivity, etc.

However, it is known that two polypeptides or two polynucleotides may be considered to be substantially homologous in structure, and yet differ substantially in function. For example, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among alleles may be expressed as polypeptides having substantial differences in function along one or more measurable parameters such as antibody- or ligand-binding affinity or enzymatic substrate specificity, and the like. Other structural differences, such as substitutions, deletions, splicing variants, and the like, may affect the function of otherwise structurally identical or homologous polypeptides.

The hPARP2 polypeptides of the invention include functional derivatives of the hPARP2 polypeptide defined in SEQ ID NO:2. Such functional derivatives include polypeptide products that possess a structural feature or a biological activity that is substantially similar to a structural feature or a biological activity of the hPARP2 protein. Accordingly, functional derivatives include variants, fragments, and chemical derivatives of the parent hPARP2 protein.

As used herein “variant” refers to a molecule substantially similar in structure and function to either the entire hPARP2 molecule, or to a fragment thereof. A molecule is said to be “substantially similar” to another if both molecules have substantially similar structures or if both molecules possess a similar biological activity. Thus, provided that two molecules possess a similar activity, they are considered variants, as that term is used herein, even if one of the molecules possesses a structure not found in the other molecule, or if the sequence of amino acid residues is not identical.

Among the variant polypeptides provided under the invention are variants that comprise one or more changes in the amino acid sequence of the hPARP2 polypeptide. Such sequence-based changes include deletions, substitutions, or insertions in the hPARP2 sequence, as well as combinations thereof.

Deletion variants of the hPARP2 polypeptides are polypeptides in which at least one amino acid residue of the sequence is removed. Deletions can be effected at one or both termini of the protein, or with removal of one or more residues within the hPARP2 amino acid sequence. Deletion variants include, for example, all incomplete fragments of the hPARP2 polypeptides of the invention. As used herein “fragment” refers to any polypeptide subset of the hPARP2 protein. A preferred fragment is a purified and isolated hPARP2 polypeptide comprising amino acids 1–49 of the amino acid sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:2. Alternative preferred fragments include purified and isolated hPARP2 polypeptides comprising at least one amino acid residue from a region consisting of amino acids 1–49 of the amino acid sequence defined in SEQ ID NO:2. Such fragments include, for example, fragments comprising amino acids 49–583 of the amino acid sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:2, as well as N-terminally extended fragments of that sequence and C-terminal truncates thereof.

Fragments of hPARP2 that exhibit a biological activity characteristic of hPARP2 and that are soluble (i.e., not membrane bound) are desirable. A soluble fragment is preferably generated by deleting any membrane-spanning region(s) of the parent molecule or by deleting or substituting hydrophilic amino acid residues for hydrophobic residues. Identification of such residues is well known in the art.

Substitution variants are provided, including polypeptides in which at least one amino acid residue of an hPARP2 polypeptide is replaced by an alternative residue. Any substitution can be made, with conservative substitutions being preferred. Directed amino acid substitutions may be made based on well defined physicochemical parameters of the canonical and other amino acids (e.g., the size, shape, polarity, charge, hydrogen-bonding capacity, solubility, chemical reactivity, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, or the amphipathic character of the residues.) as well as their contribution to secondary and tertiary protein structure. Substitution variants can include polypeptides comprising one or more conservative amino acid substitutions, i.e., a substitution of one amino acid by another having similar physicochemical character as desired. To illustrate, the canonical amino acids can be grouped according to the following categories:

Aliphatic Side Chains Gly, Ala; Val, Leu, Ile Aromatic Side Chains Phe, Tyr, Trp Aliphatic Hydroxyl Side Chains Ser, Thr Basic Side Chains Lys, Arg, His Acidic Side Chains Asp, Glu Amide Side Chains Asn, Gln Sulfur-Containing Side Chains Cys, Met Secondary Amino Group Pro Substitutions are preferably made in accordance with the following Table 1 when it is desired to controllably define the characteristics of the hPARP2 molecule.

TABLE 1 Exemplary Conservative Original Residue Substitutions Ala gly; ser Arg lys Asn gln; his Asp glu Cys ser Gln asn Glu asp Gly ala; pro His asn; gln Ile leu; val Leu ile; val Lys arg; gln; glu Met leu; tyr; ile Phe met; leu; tyr Ser thr Thr ser Trp tyr Tyr trp; phe Val ile; leu Substantial changes in functional or immunological identity are made by selecting substitutions that are more progressive than those in Table 1, i.e., selecting residues that differ more significantly in their effect on maintaining (a) the structure of the polypeptide backbone in the area of the substitution, for example, as a sheet or helical conformation, (b) the charge or hydrophobicity of the molecule at the target site, or (c) the bulk of the side chain. The substitutions that are in general more progressive are those in which: (a) glycine and/or proline is substituted by another amino acid or is deleted or inserted; (b) a hydrophilic residue is substituted for a hydrophobic residue; (c) a cysteine residue is substituted for (or by) any other residue; (d) a residue having an electropositive side chain is substituted for (or by) a residue having an electronegative charge; or (e) a residue having a bulky side chain is substituted for (or by) one not having such a side chain. Most preferred are amino acid substitutions that affect the solubility of hPARP2. These are most preferably generated by substituting hydrophilic for hydrophobic amino acids.

Substitution variants, however, can include non-canonical or non-naturally occurring amino acid residues substituted for amino acid residues in the principal sequence. Substitution variants include those polypeptides in which amino acid substitutions have been introduced by modification of polynucleotides encoding an hPARP2 polypeptide.

Insertion variants are provided, in which at least one amino acid residue is present in addition to an hPARP2 amino acid sequence. Insertions may be located at either or both termini of the polypeptide, or may be positioned within the hPARP2 amino acid sequence. Insertional variants also include fusion proteins in which the amino or carboxy terminus of the hPARP2 polypeptide is fused to another polypeptide. Examples of such fusion proteins include immunogenic polypeptides, proteins with long circulating half-life (e.g., immunoglobulin constant regions), marker proteins (e.g., green fluorescent protein) and proteins or polypeptides that facilitate purification of the desired hPARP2 polypeptide (e.g., FLAG® tags or polyhistidine sequences). Another example of a terminal insertion is a fusion of a signal sequence, whether heterologous or homologous to the host cell, to the N-terminus of the molecule to facilitate the secretion of the derivative from recombinant hosts. Intrasequence insertions (i.e., insertions within an hPARP2 molecule sequence) may range generally from about 1 to 10 residues, more preferably 1 to 5.

Polypeptide variants of the invention also include mature hPARP2 products, i.e., hPARP2 products wherein leader or signal sequences are removed, as well as products having additional amino terminal residues. hPARP2 products having an additional methionine residue at position −1 (Met⁻¹-hPARP2) are contemplated, as are hPARP2 products having additional methionine and lysine residues at positions −2 and −1, respectively (Met⁻²-Lys⁻¹-hPARP2). Other such variants are particularly useful for recombinant protein production in bacterial host cells.

The invention also encompasses hPARP2 variants having additional amino acid residues resulting from use of specific expression systems. For example, use of commercially available vectors that express a desired polypeptide as a glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion product yields the desired polypeptide having an additional glycine residue at position −1 (Gly⁻¹-hPARP2) upon cleavage of the GST component from the desired polypeptide. Variants that result from expression in other vector systems are also contemplated.

The invention further provides hPARP2 polypeptide products that are chemical derivatives of the hPARP2 polypeptide defined in SEQ ID NO:2. As used herein, the term “chemical derivative” refers to molecules that contain additional chemical moieties that are not normally a part of the naturally occurring molecule. Such moieties may impart desirable properties to the derivative molecule, such as increased solubility, absorption, biological half-life, etc. The moieties may alternatively decrease the toxicity of the derivative molecule, or eliminate or attenuate any undesirable side effect of the derivative molecule. Thus, chemical derivatives of hPARP2 polypeptides include polypeptides bearing modifications other than (or in addition to) insertion, deletion or substitution of amino acid residues. Preferably, the modifications are covalent in nature, and include, for example, chemical bonding with polymers, lipids, non-naturally occurring amino acids, and other organic and inorganic moieties. Derivatives of the invention may be prepared to increase circulating half-life of an hPARP2 polypeptide, or may be designed to improve targeting capacity for the polypeptide to desired cells, tissues, or organs.

For example, methods are known in the art for modifying a polypeptide to include one or more water-soluble polymer attachments such as polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene glycol, or polypropylene glycol. Particularly preferred are hPARP2 products that have been covalently modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) subunits. Water-soluble polymers may be bonded at specific positions, for example at the amino terminus of the hPARP2 products, or randomly attached to one or more side chains of the polypeptide. Additional derivatives include hPARP2 species immobilized on a solid support, pin microparticle, or chromatographic resin, as well as hPARP2 species modified to include one or more detectable labels, tags, chelating agents, and the like.

Derivatization with bifunctional agents can be used to cross-link TANK2 to a water-insoluble support matrix. Alternatively, reactive water-insoluble matrices such as cyanogen bromide-activated carbohydrates and reactive substrates may be employed for protein immobilization [see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,969,287; 3,691,016; 4,195,128; 4,247,642; 4,229,537; and 4,330,440.]

Expression of hPARP2 variants can be expected to have utility in investigating a biological activity characteristic of a wild-type hPARP2 polypeptide. hPARP2 variants can be designed to retain all biological or immunological properties characteristic for hPARP2, or to specifically disable one or more particular biological or immunological properties of hPARP2. For example, fragments and truncates may be designed to delete a domain associated with a particular property, or substitutions and deletions may be designed to inactivate a property associated with a particular domain. Forced expression (overexpression) of such variants (“dominant negative” mutants) can be employed to study the function of the protein in vivo by observing the phenotype associated with the mutant.

Functional derivatives of hPARP2 having up to about 100 residues may be conveniently prepared by in vitro synthesis. If desired, such fragments may be modified using methods known in the art by reacting targeted amino acid residues of the purified or crude protein with an organic derivatizing agent that is capable of reacting with selected side chains or terminal residues. The resulting covalent derivatives may be used to identify residues important for biological activity.

Functional derivatives of hPARP2 having altered amino acid sequences can also be prepared by mutating the DNA encoding hPARP2. Any combination of amino acid deletion, insertion, and substitution may be employed to generate the final construct, provided that the final construct possesses the desired activity. Obviously, the mutations that will be made in the DNA encoding the functional derivative must not place the sequence out of reading frame and preferably will not create complementary regions that could produce secondary mRNA structure [see EP Patent Publication No. 75,444].

While the site for introducing a variation in the amino acid sequence is predetermined, the mutation per se need not be predetermined. For example, to optimize the performance of a mutation at a given site, random mutagenesis, such as linker scanning mutagenesis, may be conducted at a target codon or target region to create a large number of derivative which could then be expressed and screened for the optimal combination of desired activity. Alternatively, site-directed mutagenesis or other well-known technique may be employed to make mutations at predetermined sites in a DNA known sequence.

The technique of site-directed mutagenesis is well known in the art [e.g., Sambrook et al., supra, and McPherson (Ed.), Directed Mutagenesis: A Practical Approach, IRL Press, Oxford (1991)]. Site-directed mutagenesis allows the production of hPARP2 functional derivatives through use of specific oligonucleotide sequences that encode the DNA sequence of the desired mutation. Site-directed mutagenesis methods and materials are commercially available, e.g., the QuikChange™ kit available from Stratagene (La Jolla, Calif.). One can selectively generate precise amino acid deletions, insertions, or substitutions using this method. Amino acid sequence deletions generally range from about 1 to 30 residues, more preferably 1 to 10 residues, and typically are contiguous. The most preferred deletions are those that are performed to generate catalytic fragments or DNA-binding fragments.

Mutations designed to increase the affinity of hPARP2 may be guided by the introduction of the amino acid residues that are present at homologous positions in other poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase proteins. Similarly, such mutant hPARP2 molecules may be prepared that lack residues of a functional domain, e.g., the catalytic domain, to create a dominant negative protein.

It is difficult to predict a priori the exact effect any particular modification, e.g., substitution, deletion, insertion, etc., will have on the biological activity of hPARP2. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the effect will be evaluated by routine screening assays. For example, a derivative typically is made by linker scanning site-directed mutagenesis of the DNA encoding the native hPARP2 molecule. The derivative is then expressed in a recombinant host, and, optionally, purified from the cell culture, for example, by immunoaffinity chromatography. The activity of the cell lysate or the purified derivative is then screened in a suitable screening assay for the desired characteristic. For example, a change in the immunological character of the functional derivative, such as affinity for a given antibody, is measured by a competitive type immunoassay. Changes in other parameters of the expressed product may be measured by the appropriate assay.

Antibodies

The present invention provides antibodies that bind with specificity to an hPARP2 polypeptide. An “antibody” as used herein is defined broadly as a protein that characteristically immunoreacts with an epitope (antigenic determinant) that is characteristic of the hPARP2 polypeptide. As used herein, an antibody is said to “immunoreact” with an antigen such as a polypeptide if the antibody specifically recognizes and binds an epitope that is characteristic of the antigen by way of one or more variable regions or one or more of the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of the antibody.

An antibody that is immunoreactive with a given polypeptide may exhibit cross-reactivity to another polypeptide if the two polypeptides each comprise a common structural feature that defines the same characteristic epitope. In the case of related polypeptides, cross-reactivity can correlate to common structural features such as sequence identity, homology, or similarity found among the related polypeptides. Accordingly, families of polypeptides can often be identified by a cross-reactive antibody, i.e., an antibody that immunoreacts with some or all of the members of the polypeptide family sharing the common epitope. Thus, the invention encompasses antibodies that immunoreact with a particular member of the hPARP2 family of polypeptides, e.g., a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:2 or comprising amino acid residues 1 to 49 of SEQ ID NO:2. The invention further encompasses antibodies that immunoreact with some or all members of the hPARP2 family of polypeptides. Screening assays to determine the binding specificity of an antibody are well known and routinely practiced in the art [see Harlow et al. (Eds.), Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Ch. 6, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor N.Y. (1988)]. The immunoreactive specificity with which an antibody binds to a given polypeptide antigen is to be distinguished from interactions with other proteins, e.g., Staphylococcus aureus protein A or other antibodies in ELISA techniques, that are mediated through parts of the antibody other than the variable regions, in particular the constant regions of the antibody.

Antibodies include, for example, monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies, single chain antibodies (scFv antibodies), chimeric antibodies, multifunctional/multispecific (e.g., bifunctional or bispecific) antibodies, humanized antibodies, human antibodies, and CDR-grafted antibodies (including moieties that include CDR sequences that specifically immunoreact with a polypeptide of the invention). Antibodies according to the invention also include antibody fragments, so long as they exhibit the desired biological activity. “Antibody fragments” comprise a portion of a full-length antibody, generally the antigen binding or variable region thereof. Examples of antibody fragments include Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, and Fv fragments; diabodies; linear antibodies; single-chain antibody molecules; and multispecific antibodies formed from antibody fragments.

Antibodies of the invention can be produced by any method known in the art. For example, polyclonal antibodies are isolated from mammals that have been immunized against the protein or a functional analog in accordance with methods known in the art. Briefly, polyclonal antibodies may be produced by injecting an immunogenic hPARP2 polypeptide (immunogen) into a host mammal (e.g., rabbit, mouse, rat, or goat). Adjuvants may be employed to increase the immune response. Sera from the host mammal are extracted and screened to obtain polyclonal antibodies that are specific for (immunoreact with) the hPARP2 polypeptide.

Monoclonal antibodies (also referred to herein as “mAbs”) are preferred. As used herein “monoclonal antibody” refers to an antibody obtained from a population of substantially homogeneous antibodies, i.e., the individual antibodies comprising the population are identical except for possible naturally occurring mutations that may be present in minor amounts. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific (“monospecific”), being directed against a single antigenic site. Furthermore, in contrast to conventional (polyclonal) antibody preparations, which typically include different antibodies directed against different determinants (epitopes), each monoclonal antibody is directed against a single determinant on the antigen.

The modifier “monoclonal” indicates the character of the antibody as being obtained from a substantially homogeneous population of antibodies, and is not to be construed as requiring production of the antibody by any particular method. Monoclonal antibodies may be prepared using any suitable technique capable of yielding a continuous cell line producing a homogeneous antibody. Such methods include the immunological method [Köhler and Milstein, Nature 256:495–497 (1975); Campbell, “Monoclonal antibody technology, the production and characterization of rodent and human hybridomas” in Burdon et al. (Eds.), Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Vol. 13, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam (1985)] or any similar method. Monoclonal antibodies may also be isolated from phage antibody libraries [Clackson et al., Nature 352:624–8 (1991); Marks et al., J Mol Biol 222:581–97 (1991)].

To illustrate, to produce monoclonal antibodies a host mammal is immunized by injection of an immunogenic hPARP2 polypeptide, and then boosted. Spleens are collected from immunized mammals a few days after the final boost. Cell suspensions from the spleens are fused with a tumor cell line to create immortalized hybrid cell lines or “hybridomas.” Individual clones can be isolated by limiting dilution and then tested for the specificity of the antibodies they produce. Selected cells can then be grown, e.g., by the ascites method, to provide a continuous source of the desired homogeneous antibody.

Antibodies can be engineered using genetic techniques to produce chimeric antibodies including protein components from two or more species. For use in in vivo applications with a human subject, the antibody can be “humanized,” i.e., modified to contain an antigen binding region from one species, e.g., a rodent, with the bulk of the antibody replaced with sequences derived from human immunoglobulin. In one method, the non-human CDRs of one species e.g., a mouse or rabbit, are inserted into a framework sequence of another species, e.g., a human, or into a consensus framework sequence. Further changes can then be introduced into the antibody framework to modulate affinity or immunogenicity of the engineered antibody. Methods are also known for inducing expression of engineered antibodies in various cell types, such as mammalian and microbial cell types. Numerous techniques for preparing engineered antibodies are described in the art [e.g., Owens and Young, J Immunol Meth 168:149–65 (1994)].

Antibodies further include recombinant polyclonal or monoclonal Fab fragments [e.g., Huse et al., Science 246:1275–81 (1989)]. Alternatively, techniques described for the production of single chain antibodies (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778) can be adapted to produce hPARP2-specific single chain antibodies (e.g., single chain Fv fragments; abbreviated “scFv”). Rapid, large-scale recombinant methods for generating antibodies may be employed such as phage display or ribosome display methods, optionally followed by affinity maturation [see, e.g., Ouwehand et al., Vox Sang 74(Suppl 2):223–232 (1998); Rader et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:8910–8915 (1998); Dall'Acqua et al., Curr Opin Struct Biol 8:443–450 (1998)].

Fully human antibodies are especially preferred for therapeutic use in humans, but they are typically difficult to produce. For example, when the immunogen is a human self-antigen, a human will typically not produce any immune response to the antigen. Methods for making fully human antibodies have been developed and are known in the art. Accordingly, fully human antibodies can be produced by using an immunogenic hPARP2 polypeptide to immunize an animal (e.g., mouse) that has been transgenically modified to express at least a significant fraction of the human repertoire of immunoglobulin genes [see e.g., Bruggemann et al., Immunol Today 17:391–7 (1996)].

As noted herein, host cells of the invention are a valuable source of immunogen for development of antibodies specifically immunoreactive with hPARP2. To be useful as an immunogen for the preparation of polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies, an hPARP2 peptide fragment must contain sufficient amino acid residues to define an immunogenic epitope. If the fragment is too short to be immunogenic per se, it may be conjugated to a carrier molecule. Suitable carrier molecules include, for example, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Conjugation may be carried out by methods known in the art. One such method is to combine a cysteine residue of the fragment with a cysteine residue on the carrier molecule.

Antibodies of the invention are useful for therapeutic methods (by modulating activity of hPARP2), diagnostic methods (by detecting hPARP2 in a sample), as well as purification of hPARP2. The antibodies are particularly useful for detecting and/or quantitating hPARP2 expression in cells, tissues, organs, and lysates and extracts thereof, as well as in fluids such as serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, sputum, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Kits comprising an antibody of the invention for any of the purposes described herein are also contemplated. In general, a kit of the invention also includes a control antigen with which the antibody immunoreacts, and may further include other reagents, containers, and package inserts.

Further, the invention includes neutralizing antibodies, i.e., antibodies that significantly inhibit or impair a biological activity of the proteins or functional analogs of the invention. In particular, neutralizing antibodies inhibit or impair the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of hPARP2. Neutralizing antibodies may be especially desirable for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Functional equivalents further include fragments of antibodies that have the same binding characteristics as, or that have binding characteristics comparable to, those of the whole antibody. Such fragments may contain one or both Fab fragments or the F(ab′)₂ fragment. Preferably, the antibody fragments contain all six complement determining regions (“CDRs”) of the whole antibody, although fragments containing fewer than all of such regions, such as three, four, or five CDRs, may also be functional. Fragments may be prepared by methods described in the art [e.g., Lamoyi et al., J Immunol Meth 56:235–43 (1983); Parham, J Immunol 131:2895–902 (1983)].

Moreover, specific binding proteins can be developed using isolated or recombinant hPARP2 products, hPARP2 variants, or cells expressing such products. Binding proteins are useful for purifying hPARP2 products and detection or quantification of hPARP2 products in fluid and tissue samples using known immunological procedures. Binding proteins are also manifestly useful in modulating (i.e., blocking, inhibiting, or stimulating) biological activities of hPARP2 polypeptides, especially those activities involved in signal transduction. Thus, neutralizing antibodies that inhibit the activity of hPARP2 polypeptides are provided. Anti-idiotypic antibodies specific for anti-hPARP2 antibodies are also contemplated.

Detectable Polynucleotide and Polypeptide Probes

The present invention further provides a method of detecting the presence of an hPARP2-encoding polynucleotide or an hPARP2 polypeptide in a sample. The method involves use of a labeled probe that recognizes the presence of a defined target in the sample. The probe may be an antibody that recognizes an hPARP2 polypeptide, or an oligonucleotide that recognizes a polynucleotide encoding hPARP2 polypeptide.

The probes of the invention can be detectably labeled in accordance with methods known in the art. In general, the probe can be modified by attachment of a detectable label (reporter) moiety to the probe, or a detectable probe can be manufactured with a detectable label moiety incorporated therein. The detectable label moiety can be any detectable moiety, many of which are known in the art, including radioactive atoms, electron dense atoms, enzymes, chromogens and colored compounds, fluorogens and fluorescent compounds, members of specific binding pairs, and the like.

Methods for labeling oligonucleotide probes have been described in the art [see, e.g., Leary et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 80:4045–49 (1983); Renz and Kurz, Nucleic Acids Res 12:3435–44 (1984); Richardson and Gum port, Nucleic Acids Res 11:6167–84 (1983); Smith et al., Nucleic Acids Res 13:2399–412 (1985); Meinkoth and Wahl, Anal Biochem 138:267–84 (1984); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,711,955; 4,687,732; 5,241,060; 5,244,787; 5,328,824; 5,580,990; and 5,714,327].

Methods for labeling antibodies have been also been described [see, e.g., Hunter et al., Nature 144:495–6 (1962); David et al., Biochemistry 13:1014–21 (1974); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,940,475 and 3,645,090].

The label moiety may be radioactive. Some examples of useful radioactive labels include ³²P, ¹²⁵I, ¹³¹I, and ³H. Use of radioactive labels has been described [e.g., UK patent document 2,034,323 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,358,535 and 4,302,204].

Some examples of non-radioactive labels include enzymes, chromogens, atoms and molecules detectable by electron microscopy, and metal ions detectable by their magnetic properties.

Some useful enzymatic labels include enzymes that cause a detectable change in a substrate. Some useful enzymes (and their substrates) include, for example, horseradish peroxidase (pyrogallol and o-phenylenediamine), beta-galactosidase (fluorescein beta-D-galactopyranoside), and alkaline phosphatase (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitro blue tetrazolium). The use of enzymatic labels has been described in the art [see, e.g., UK patent document 2,019,404, European patent document EP 63,879, and Rotman, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 47:1981–91 (1961)].

Useful reporter moieties include, for example, fluorescent, phosphorescent chemiluminescent, and bioluminescent molecules, as well as dyes. Some specific colored or fluorescent compounds useful in the present invention include, for example, fluoresceins, coumarins, rhodamines, Texas red, phycoerythrins, umbelliferones, Luminol®, and the like. Chromogens or fluorogens, i.e., molecules that can be modified (e.g., oxidized) to become colored or fluorescent or to change their color or emission spectra, are also capable of being incorporated into probes to act as reporter moieties under particular conditions.

The label moieties may be conjugated to the probe by methods that are well known in the art. The label moieties may be directly attached through a functional group on the probe. The probe either contains or can be caused to contain such a functional group. Some examples of suitable functional groups include, for example, amino, carboxyl, sulfhydryl, maleimide, isocyanate, isothiocyanate.

Alternatively, label moieties such as enzymes and chromogens may be conjugated to antibodies or nucleotides by means of coupling agents, such as dialdehydes, carbodiimides, dimaleimides, and the like.

The label moiety may also be conjugated to the probe by means of a ligand attached to the probe by a method described above and a receptor for that ligand attached to the label moiety. Any of the known ligand-receptor binding pair combinations is suitable. Some suitable ligand-receptor pairs include, for example, biotin-avidin or -streptavidin, and antibody-antigen. The biotin-streptavidin combination may be preferred.

Methods of Using hparp2 Polynucleotides and hPARP2 Polypeptides

The scientific value of the information contributed through the disclosures of DNA and amino acid sequences of the present invention is manifest. As one series of examples, knowledge of the sequence of a cDNA for hparp2 makes possible through use of Southern hybridization or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) the identification of genomic DNA sequences encoding hPARP2 and hPARP2 expression control regulatory sequences. DNA/DNA hybridization procedures carried out with DNA sequences of the invention under moderately to highly stringent conditions are also expected to allow the isolation of DNAs encoding allelic variants of hPARP2. Similarly, non-human species genes encoding proteins homologous to hPARP2 can also be identified by Southern and/or PCR analysis. As an alternative, complementation studies can be useful for identifying other human hPARP2 products as well as non-human proteins, and DNAs encoding the proteins, sharing one or more biological properties of hPARP2. Oligonucleotides of the invention are also useful in hybridization assays to detect the capacity of cells to express hPARP2. Polynucleotides of the invention may also be the basis for diagnostic methods useful for identifying a genetic alteration in the hparp2 locus that underlies a disease state.

Oligonucleotides of the invention, as described herein, may be used in methods to amplify DNA for various purposes. “Amplification” according to the method of the invention refers to any molecular biology technique for detection of trace levels of a specific nucleic acid sequence by exponentially amplifying a template nucleic acid sequence. In particular, suitable amplification techniques include such techniques as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the ligase chain reaction (LCR) and variants thereof. PCR is known to be a highly sensitive technique, and is in wide use [see, for example, Innis et al., PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego (1990); Dieffenbach and Dveksler, PCR Primer: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview N.Y. (1995); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195; 4,800,195; and 4,965,188]. LCR is more recently developed [Landegren et al., Science 241:1077–80 (1988) and Barany et al., PCR Methods and Applications 1:5–16 (1991); an LCR kit is available from Stratagene]. LCR is known to be highly specific, and is capable of detecting point mutations. In certain circumstances, it is desirable to couple the PCR and LCR techniques to improve precision of detection. Other amplification techniques may be employed in accordance to the invention.

Oligonucleotide amplification primers are often provided as matched pairs of single-stranded oligonucleotides; one with sense orientation (5′→3′) and one with antisense (3′←5′) orientation. Such specific primer pairs can be employed under optimized conditions for identification of a specific gene or condition. Alternatively, the same primer pair, nested sets of oligomers, or even a degenerate pool of oligomers, may be employed under less stringent conditions for detection and/or quantitation of closely related DNA or RNA sequences.

Such oligonucleotides can be used in various methods known in the art to extend the specified nucleotide sequences. These methods permit use of a known sequence to determine unknown adjacent sequence, thereby enabling detection and determination of upstream sequences such as promoters and regulatory elements.

For example, restriction-site polymerase chain reaction is a direct method that uses universal primers to retrieve unknown sequence adjacent to a known locus [see, e.g., Gobinda et al., PCR Methods Applic 2:318–22 (1993)]. In this method, genomic DNA is first amplified in the presence of primer to a linker sequence and a primer specific to the known region. The amplified sequences are subjected to a second round of PCR with the same linker primer and another specific primer internal to the first one. Products of each round of PCR are transcribed with an appropriate RNA polymerase and sequenced using reverse transcriptase.

Inverse PCR can be used to amplify or extend sequences using divergent primers based on a known region [Triglia et al., Nucleic Acids Res 16:8186 (1988)]. The primers may be designed using Oligo 4.0 (National Biosciences, Inc., Plymouth Minn.), or another appropriate program, to be 22–30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content of 50% or more, and to anneal to the target sequence at temperatures about 68°–72° C. This method uses several restriction enzymes to generate a suitable fragment in the known region of a gene. The fragment is then circularized by intermolecular ligation and used as a PCR template.

Capture PCR is a method for PCR amplification of DNA fragments adjacent to a known sequence in human and yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) DNA [Lagerstrom et al., PCR Methods Applic 1:111–9 (1991)]. Capture PCR also requires multiple restriction enzyme digestions and ligations to place an engineered double-stranded sequence into an unknown portion of the DNA molecule before PCR. Walking PCR is a method for targeted gene walking that permits retrieval of unknown sequence [Parker et al., Nucleic Acids Res 19:3055–60 (1991)]. The PromoterFinder™ kit (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.) uses PCR, nested primers, and special libraries to “walk in” genomic DNA. This process avoids the need to screen libraries and is useful in finding intron/exon junctions.

Such methods can be used to explore genomic libraries to extend 5′ sequence and to obtain endogenous hparp2 genomic sequence, including elements such as promoters, introns, operators, enhancers, repressors, and the like. Preferred libraries for screening for full-length cDNAs are ones that have been size-selected to include larger cDNAs. In addition, randomly primed libraries are preferred in that they will contain more sequences that contain the 5′ and upstream regions of genes.

The oligonucleotide probes may also be used for mapping the endogenous genomic sequence. The sequence may be mapped to a particular chromosome or to a specific region of the chromosome using well known techniques. These include in situ hybridization to chromosomal spreads [Venna et al., Human Chromosomes: A Manual of Basic Technique, Pergamon Press, New York (1988)], flow-sorted chromosomal preparations, or artificial chromosome constructions such as YACs, bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs), bacterial P1 constructions, or single chromosome cDNA libraries.

Hybridization of chromosomal preparations and physical mapping techniques such as linkage analysis using established chromosomal markers are invaluable in extending genetic maps. Examples of genetic maps can be found in Science 270:410f (1995) and Science 265:1981f (1994). Often the placement of a gene on the chromosome of another mammalian species may reveal associated markers even if the number or arm of a particular human chromosome is not known. Such sequences can be assigned to particular structural features of chromosomes by physical mapping. This provides valuable information to investigators searching for disease genes using positional cloning or other gene discovery techniques. Once a disease or syndrome has been crudely localized by genetic linkage to a particular genomic region, any sequences mapping to that area may represent associated or regulatory genes for further investigation [see, e.g., Gatti et al., Nature 336:577–80 (1988)]. The polynucleotides of the invention may also be used to detect differences in the chromosomal location due to translocation, inversion, etc., between normal, carrier, or affected individuals.

The DNA sequence information provided by the present invention also makes possible the development, e.g., through homologous recombination or “knock-out” strategies [Capecchi, Science 244:1288–92 (1989)], of animals that fail to express functional hPARP2 or that express a variant of hPARP2. Such animals are useful as models for studying the in vivo activities of hPARP2 and modulators thereof.

As described herein, the invention provides antisense nucleic acid sequences that recognize and hybridize to polynucleotides encoding hPARP2. Modifications of gene expression can be obtained by designing antisense sequences to the control regions of the hparp2 gene, such as the promoters, enhancers, and introns. Oligonucleotides derived from the transcription initiation site, e.g., between −10 and +10 regions of the leader sequence, are preferred. Antisense RNA and DNA molecules may also be designed to block translation of mRNA by preventing the transcript from binding to ribosomes. The worker of ordinary skill will appreciate that antisense molecules of the invention include those that specifically recognize and hybridize to hparp2 DNA (as determined by sequence comparison of hparp2 DNA to DNA encoding other known molecules). The antisense molecules of the invention also include those that recognize and hybridize to DNA encoding other members of the hPARP2 family of proteins. Antisense polynucleotides that hybridize to multiple DNAs encoding other members of the hPARP2 family of proteins are also identifiable through sequence comparison to identify characteristic or signature sequences for the family of hPARP2 proteins. Accordingly, such antisense molecules preferably have at least 95%, more preferably at least 98%, and still more preferably at least 99% identity to the target hparp2 sequence.

Antisense polynucleotides are particularly relevant to regulating expression of hPARP2 by those cells expressing hparp2 mRNA. Antisense polynucleotides (preferably 10 to 20 bp oligonucleotides) capable of specifically binding to hparp2 expression control sequences or hparp2 RNA are introduced into cells, e.g., by a viral vector or a colloidal dispersion system such as a liposome. The antisense oligonucleotide binds to the hparp2 target nucleotide sequence in the cell and prevents transcription or translation of the target sequence. Phosphorothioate and methylphosphonate antisense oligonucleotides are specifically contemplated for therapeutic use under the invention. The antisense oligonucleotides may be further modified by poly-L-lysine, transferrin polylysine, or cholesterol moieties at their 5′ ends [for a recent review of antisense technology, see Delihas et al., Nature Biotechnology 15:751–3 (1997)].

The invention further comprises methods to modulate hPARP2 expression by means of ribozyme technology [for a review, see Gibson and Shillitoe, Mol Biotechnol 7:125–37 (1997)]. Ribozyme technology can be used to inhibit translation of hparp2 mRNA in a sequence specific manner through (i) the hybridization of a complementary RNA to a target mRNA and (ii) cleavage of the hybridized mRNA through endonuclease activity inherent to the complementary RNA. Ribozymes can be identified by empirical methods such as using complementary oligonucleotides in ribonuclease protection assays, but more preferably are specifically designed based on scanning the target molecule for accessible ribozyme cleavage sites [Bramlage et al., Trends Biotechnol 16:434–8 (1998)]. Delivery of ribozymes to target cells can be accomplished using either exogenous or endogenous delivery techniques well known and practiced in the art. Exogenous can include use of targeting liposomes or direct local injection. Endogenous methods include use of viral vectors and non-viral plasmids.

Ribozymes can specifically modulate expression of hPARP2 when designed to be complementary to regions unique to a polynucleotide encoding hPARP2. “Specifically modulate,” therefore is intended to mean that ribozymes of the invention recognize only a polynucleotide encoding hPARP2. Similarly, ribozymes can be designed to modulate expression of all or some of the hPARP2 family of proteins. Ribozymes of this type are designed to recognize nucleotide sequences conserved all or some of the polynucleotides encoding the hPARP2 family members.

The invention further embraces methods to modulate transcription of hparp2 through use of oligonucleotide-directed triple helix formation (also known as Hogeboom base-pairing methodology) [for a review, see Lavrovsky et al., Biochem Mol Med 62:11–22 (1997)]. Triple helix formation is accomplished using sequence-specific oligonucleotides that hybridize to double stranded DNA in the major groove as defined in the Watson-Crick model. This triple helix hybridization compromises the ability of the original double helix to open sufficiently for the binding of polymerases, transcription factors, or regulatory molecules. Preferred target sequences for hybridization include promoter and enhancer regions to permit transcriptional regulation of hPARP2 expression. Oligonucleotides that are capable of triple helix formation can alternatively be coupled to DNA damaging agents, which can then be used for site-specific covalent modification of target DNA sequences. See Lavrovsky et al. supra.

Both antisense RNA and DNA molecules and ribozymes of the invention may be prepared by any method known in the art for the synthesis of RNA molecules. These include techniques for chemically synthesizing oligonucleotides such as solid-phase phosphoramidite chemical synthesis. Alternatively, RNA molecules may be generated by in vitro or in vivo transcription of DNA sequences encoding the antisense RNA molecule. Such DNA sequences may be incorporated into a variety of vectors with suitable RNA polymerase promoters such as T7 or SP6. Alternatively, antisense cDNA constructs that synthesize antisense RNA constitutively or inducibly can be introduced into cell lines, cells, or tissues.

Mutations in a gene that result in loss of normal function of the gene product may underlie hPARP2-related disease states. The invention comprehends gene therapy to restore hPARP2 activity as indicated in treating those disease states characterized by a deficiency or absence of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity associated with the hPARP2 enzyme. Delivery of functional hparp2 gene to appropriate cells is effected ex vivo, in situ, or in vivo by use of vectors, and more particularly viral vectors (e.g., adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, or retrovirus), or ex vivo by use of physical DNA transfer methods (e.g., liposomes or chemical treatments) [see, e.g., Anderson, Nature 392(6679 Suppl):25–30 (1998)]. Alternatively, it is contemplated that in other disease states, preventing the expression or inhibiting the activity of hPARP2 will be useful in treating those disease states. Antisense therapy or gene therapy can be applied to negatively regulate the expression of hPARP2.

The DNA and amino acid sequence information provided by the present invention also makes possible the systematic analysis of the structure and function of hPARP2 proteins. DNA and amino acid sequence information for hPARP2 also permits identification of molecules with which an hPARP2 polypeptide will interact. Agents that modulate (i.e., increase, decrease, or block) hPARP2 activity may be identified by incubating a putative modulator with hPARP2 and determining the effect of the putative modulator on hPARP2 activity. The selectivity of a compound that modulates the activity of the hPARP2 can be evaluated by comparing its activity on the hPARP2 to its activity on other proteins. Cell-based methods, such as dihybrid or trihybrid assays (to identify DNAs encoding binding partners) and split hybrid assays (to identify inhibitors of hPARP2 polypeptide interaction with a known binding partner), as well as in vitro methods, including assays in which an hPARP2 polypeptide, hparp2 polynucleotide, or a binding partner thereof is immobilized, and solution assays are contemplated under the invention.

Selective modulators may include, for example, antibodies and other proteins or peptides that specifically bind to an hPARP2 polypeptide or an hPARP2-encoding polynucleotide, oligonucleotides that specifically bind to hPARP2 polypeptides or hPARP2-encoding polynucleotides, and other non-peptide compounds (e.g., isolated or synthetic organic molecules) that specifically react with hPARP2 polypeptides or hPARP2-encoding polynucleotides. Modulators also include compounds as described above but which interact with a specific binding partner of hPARP2 polypeptides. Mutant forms of hPARP2, such as those that affect the biological activity or cellular location of the wild-type hPARP2, are also contemplated under the invention. Presently preferred targets for the development of selective modulators include, for example:

-   -   (1) cytoplasmic or transmembrane regions of hPARP2 polypeptides         that contact other proteins and/or localize hPARP2 within a         cell;     -   (2) extracellular regions of hPARP2 polypeptides that bind         specific binding partners;     -   (3) regions of the hPARP2 polypeptides that bind substrate;     -   (4) allosteric regulatory sites of the hPARP2 polypeptides;     -   (5) regions of the hPARP2 polypeptides that mediate         multimerization.         Still other selective modulators include those that recognize         specific regulatory or hPARP2-encoding nucleotide sequences.         Modulators of hPARP2 activity may be therapeutically useful in         treatment of a wide range of diseases and physiological         conditions in which aberrant hPARP2 activity is involved.

An hPARP2-coding polynucleotide sequence may be used for the diagnosis of diseases resulting from or associated with hPARP2 expression or activity. For example, polynucleotide sequences encoding hPARP2 may be used in hybridization or PCR assays of biological samples, e.g., samples or extracts of fluids or tissues from biopsies or autopsies, to detect abnormalities in hPARP2 expression. Such qualitative or quantitative methods may include Southern or northern analysis, dot blot, or other membrane-based technologies; PCR technologies; dipstick, pin or chip technologies; and ELISA or other multiple-sample format technologies. These types of techniques are well known in the art and have been employed in commercially available diagnostic kits.

Such assays may be tailored to evaluate the efficacy of a particular therapeutic treatment regimen and may be used in animal studies, in clinical trials, or in monitoring the treatment of an individual patient. To provide a basis for the diagnosis of disease, a normal or standard profile for hPARP2 expression must be established. This is accomplished by combining a biological sample taken from a normal subject with an hparp2 polynucleotide, under conditions suitable for hybridization or amplification. Standard hybridization may be quantified by comparing the values obtained for normal subjects with a dilution series of positive controls run in the same experiment where a known amount of a purified hparp2 polynucleotide is used. Standard values obtained from normal samples may be compared with values obtained from samples from subjects potentially affected by a disorder or disease related to hPARP2 expression. Deviation between standard and subject values establishes the presence of the disease state. If disease is established, an existing therapeutic agent is administered, and treatment profile or values may be generated. The assay may be repeated on a regular basis to evaluate whether the values progress toward or return to the normal or standard pattern. Successive treatment profiles may be used to show the efficacy of treatment over a period of several days or several months.

Anti-hPARP2 antibodies are useful for the diagnosis of conditions, disorders, or diseases characterized by or associated with abnormal expression of an hPARP2 polypeptide. Diagnostic assays for hPARP2 polypeptides include methods that employ a labeled antibody to detect an hPARP2 polypeptide in a biological sample such as a body fluid, cells, tissues, sections, or extracts of such materials. The polypeptides and antibodies of the present invention may be used with or without modification. Preferably, the polypeptide or the antibody will be labeled by linking them, either covalently or non-covalently, with a detectable label moiety as described herein.

Antibody-based methods for detecting the presence of hPARP2 polypeptides in biological samples are enabled by virtue of the present invention. Assays for detecting the presence of proteins with antibodies have been previously described, and follow known formats, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and flow cytometry, western blots, sandwich assays, and the like. These formats are normally based on incubating an antibody with a sample suspected of containing the hPARP2 protein and detecting the presence of a complex between the antibody and the protein. The antibody is labeled either before, during, or after the incubation step. The specific concentrations of antibodies, the temperature and time of incubation, as well as other such assay conditions, can be varied, depending upon various factors including the concentration of antigen in the sample, the nature of the sample, etc. Those skilled in the art will be able to determine operative and optimal assay conditions for each determination by employing routine experimentation [see, e.g., Hampton et al., Serological Methods: A Laboratory Manual, APS Press, St Paul, Minn. (1990)].

To provide a basis for the quantitation of hPARP2 protein in a sample or for the diagnosis of disease, normal or standard values of hPARP2 polypeptide expression must be established. This is accomplished by combining body fluids or cell extracts taken from a normal sample or from normal subjects, either animal or human, with antibody to an hPARP2 polypeptide. The amount of standard complex formation may be quantified by comparing it with a dilution series of positive controls where a known amount of antibody is combined with known concentrations of a purified hPARP2 polypeptide. Then, standard values obtained from normal samples may be compared with values obtained from samples from test sample, e.g., subjects potentially affected by a disorder or disease related to an hPARP2 expression. Deviation between standard and test values establishes the presence of the disease state.

Methods for Identifying Modulators of hPARP2 Activity

The hPARP2 protein, as well as fragments thereof possessing biological activity can be used for screening putative modulator compounds in any of a variety of drug screening techniques. The term “modulator” as used herein refers to a compound that acts as an agonist or as an antagonist of hPARP2 activity. Modulators according to the invention include allosteric modulators of activity as well as inhibitors of activity. An “agonist” of hPARP2 is a compound that enhances or increases the ability of hPARP2 to carry out any of its biological functions. An example of such an agonist is an agent that increases the ability of hPARP2 to bind to damaged DNA or to polymerize ADP-ribose. An “antagonist” of hPARP2 is a compound that diminishes or abolishes the ability of hPARP2 to carry out any of its biological functions. An example of such antagonists is an anti-hPARP2 antibody.

Accordingly, the invention provides a method for screening a plurality of test compounds for specific binding affinity with an hPARP2 polypeptide, comprising providing a plurality of test compounds; combining an hPARP2 polypeptide with each of the plurality of test compounds for a time sufficient to allow binding under suitable conditions; and detecting binding of the hPARP2 polypeptide to each of the plurality of test compounds, thereby identifying those test compounds that specifically bind the hPARP2 polypeptide.

The present invention also provides a method of identifying a modulator of a biological activity of an hPARP2 polypeptide, comprising the steps of a) contacting the compound with an hPARP2 polypeptide, b) incubating the mixture of step a) with a substrate under conditions suitable for the biological activity, c) measuring the amount of the biological activity; and d) comparing the amount of biological activity of step c) with the amount of biological activity obtained with the hPARP2 polypeptide, incubated without the compound, thereby determining whether the compound stimulates or inhibits the biological activity. In one embodiment of the method, the hPARP2 polypeptide is a fragment from the non-catalytic region of the hPARP2 and provides a method to identify allosteric modulators of hPARP2. In another embodiment, the hPARP2 polypeptide is a fragment from the catalytic region of hPARP2 and provides a method to identify inhibitors of the biological activity.

Accordingly, the polypeptide employed in such methods may be free in solution, affixed to a solid support, displayed on a cell surface, or located intracellularly. The modulation of activity or the formation of binding complexes between the hPARP2 polypeptide and the agent being tested may be measured. hPARP2 polypeptides are amenable to biochemical or cell-based high throughput screening (HTS) assays according to methods known and practiced in the art, including melanophore assay systems to investigate receptor-ligand interactions, yeast-based assay systems, and mammalian cell expression systems [for a review, see Jayawickreme and Kost, Curr Opin Biotechnol 8:629–34 (1997)]. Automated and miniaturized HTS assays are also comprehended [e.g., Houston and Banks, Curr Opin Biotechnol 8:734–40 (1997)].

Such HTS assays are used to screen libraries of compounds to identify particular compounds that exhibit a desired property. Any library of compounds may be used, including chemical libraries, natural product libraries, combinatorial libraries comprising random or designed oligopeptides, oligonucleotides, or other organic compounds.

Chemical libraries may contain known compounds, proprietary structural analogs of known compounds, or compounds that are identified from natural product screening.

Natural product libraries are collections of materials isolated from naturals sources, typically, microorganisms, animals, plants, or marine organisms. Natural products are isolated from their sources by fermentation of microorganisms followed by isolation and extraction of the fermentation broths or by direct extraction from the microorganisms or tissues (plants or animal) themselves. Natural product libraries include polyketides, non-ribosomal peptides, and variants (including non-naturally occurring variants) thereof [for a review, see Cane et al., Science 282:63–8 (1998)].

Combinatorial libraries are composed of large numbers of related compounds, such as peptides, oligonucleotides, or other organic compounds as a mixture. Such compounds are relatively straightforward to design and prepare by traditional automated synthesis protocols, PCR, cloning or proprietary synthetic methods. Of particular interest are peptide and oligonucleotide combinatorial libraries.

Still other libraries of interest include peptide, protein, peptidomimetic, multiparallel synthetic collection, recombinatorial, and polypeptide libraries [for a review of combinatorial chemistry and libraries created thereby, see Myers, Curr Opin Biotechnol 8:701–7 (1997)].

Once compounds have been identified that show activity as modulators of hPARP2 function, a program of optimization can be undertaken in an effort to improve the potency and or selectivity of the activity. This analysis of structure-activity relationships (SAR) typically involves of iterative series of selective modifications of compound structures and their correlation to biochemical or biological activity. Families of related compounds can be designed that all exhibit the desired activity, with certain members of the family potentially qualifying as therapeutic candidates.

The invention also encompasses the use of competitive drug screening assays in which neutralizing antibodies capable of binding an hPARP2 polypeptide specifically compete with a test compound for binding to the hPARP2 polypeptide. In this manner, the antibodies can be used to detect the presence of any compound, e.g., another peptide that shares one or more antigenic determinants with the hPARP2 polypeptide.

Therapeutic Uses of hPARP2-Encoding Polynucleotides and hPARP2 Polypeptides

The invention provides a method for inhibiting the expression or activity of hPARP2 therapeutically or prophylactically. The method comprises administering an hPARP2 antagonist in an amount effective for inhibiting hPARP2 expression or activity. The invention thus provides a method for treating tissue damage resulting from cell damage or death due to necrosis or apoptosis, comprising administering to the animal an effective amount of a compound that inhibits hPARP2 activity. This method may be employed in treating persons who are or may be subject to any condition whose symptoms or pathology is mediated by hPARP2 expression or activity.

The method may further involve administering an antagonist of another poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity, such as activity associated with the enzymes PARP1, tankyrase, and the like. Exemplary PARP1 antagonists suitable for use in this embodiment include, for example, the compounds described in Banasik et al., J Biol Chem 267:1569–75 (1992); and in PCT patent publications WO 99/11623 and WO 99/11649. Alternatively, the hPARP2 inhibitory method may entail use of a compound that antagonizes both hPARP2 and another enzyme having PARP activity.

“Treating” as used herein refers to preventing a disorder from occurring in an animal that may be predisposed to the disorder, but has not yet been diagnosed as having it; inhibiting the disorder, i.e., arresting its development; relieving the disorder, i.e., causing its regression, or ameliorating the disorder, i.e., reducing the severity of symptoms associated with the disorder. “Disorder” is intended to encompass medical disorders, diseases, conditions, syndromes, and the like, without limitation.

In particular, the method of the invention may be employed to treat humans therapeutically or prophylactically who are or may subject to an inflammatory disorder. One aspect of the present invention derives from the ability of hPARP2 and its functional derivatives to interact with damaged DNA and to signal or induce cell death. Without intending to be bound by any one theory, it is believed that, because inflammation involves processes that may be injurious to DNA, and because hPARP2 may inappropriately induce cell death under such conditions, antagonists of hPARP2 may be used to suppress injury associated with inflammation.

“Inflammatory disorder” as used herein can refer to any disease, disorder, or syndrome in which an excessive or unregulated inflammatory response leads to excessive inflammatory symptoms, host tissue damage, or loss of tissue function. “Inflammatory disorders” can also refer to pathological states mediated by influx of leukocytes and or neutrophil chemotaxis.

“Inflammation” as used herein refers to a localized, protective response elicited by injury or destruction of tissues, which serves to destroy, dilute or wall off (sequester) both the injurious agent and the injured tissue. Inflammation is notably associated with influx of leukocytes and or neutrophil chemotaxis. Inflammation may result from infection with pathogenic organisms and viruses and from noninfectious means such as trauma or reperfusion following myocardial infarction or stroke, immune response to foreign antigen, and autoimmune responses. Accordingly, inflammatory disorders amenable to the invention encompass disorders associated with reactions of the specific defense system as well as with reactions of the non-specific defense system.

As used herein, the term “specific defense system” refers to the component of the immune system that reacts to the presence of specific antigens. Examples of inflammation resulting from a response of the specific defense system include the classical response to foreign antigens, autoimmune diseases, and delayed type hypersensitivity response mediated by T-cells. Chronic inflammatory diseases, the rejection of solid transplanted tissue and organs, e.g., kidney and bone marrow transplants, and graft versus host disease (GVHD), are further examples of inflammatory reactions of the specific defense system.

The term “non-specific defense system” as used herein refers to inflammatory disorders that are mediated by leukocytes that are incapable of immunological memory (e.g., granulocytes, macrophages). Examples of inflammation that result, at least in part, from a reaction of the non-specific defense system include inflammation associated with conditions such as adult (acute) respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or multiple organ injury syndromes; reperfusion injury; acute glomerulonephritis; reactive arthritis; dermatoses with acute inflammatory components; acute purulent meningitis or other central nervous system inflammatory disorders such as stroke; thermal injury; inflammatory bowel disease; granulocyte transfusion associated syndromes; and cytokine-induced toxicity.

“Autoimmune disease” as used herein refers to any group of disorders in which tissue injury is associated with humoral or cell-mediated responses to the body's own constituents. “Allergic disease” as used herein refers to any symptoms, tissue damage, or loss of tissue function resulting from allergy. “Arthritic disease” as used herein refers to any disease that is characterized by inflammatory lesions of the joints attributable to a variety of etiologies. “Dermatitis” as used herein refers to any of a large family of diseases of the skin that are characterized by inflammation of the skin attributable to a variety of etiologies. “Transplant rejection” as used herein refers to any immune reaction directed against grafted tissue (including organs or cells (e.g., bone marrow)), characterized by a loss of function of the grafted and surrounding tissues, pain, swelling, leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia.

The therapeutic methods of the present invention include methods for the amelioration of disorders associated with inflammatory cell activation. “Inflammatory cell activation” refers to the induction by a stimulus (including, but not limited to, cytokines, antigens or auto-antibodies) of a proliferative cellular response, the production of soluble mediators (including but not limited to cytokines, oxygen radicals, enzymes, prostanoids, or vasoactive amines), or cell surface expression of new or increased numbers of mediators (including, but not limited to, major histocompatability antigens or cell adhesion molecules) in inflammatory cells (including but not limited to monocytes, macrophages, T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, granulocytes (polymorphonuclear leukocytes including neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils), mast cells, dendritic cells, Langerhans cells, and endothelial cells). It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the activation of one or a combination of these phenotypes in these cells can contribute to the initiation, perpetuation, or exacerbation of an inflammatory disorder.

The present invention enables methods of treating such diseases as arthritic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gouty arthritis, spondylitis; Behcet disease; sepsis, septic shock, endotoxic shock, gram negative sepsis, gram positive sepsis, and toxic shock syndrome; multiple organ injury syndrome secondary to septicemia, trauma, or hemorrhage; ophthalmic disorders such as allergic conjunctivitis, vernal conjunctivitis, uveitis, and thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy; eosinophilic granuloma; pulmonary or respiratory disorders such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, ARDS, chronic pulmonary inflammatory disease (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), silicosis, pulmonary sarcoidosis, pleurisy, alveolitis, vasculitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary oxygen toxicity; reperfusion injury of the myocardium, brain, or extremities; fibrosis such as cystic fibrosis; keloid formation or scar tissue formation; atherosclerosis; autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, some forms of diabetes, and Reynaud's syndrome; and transplant rejection disorders such as GVHD and allograft rejection; chronic glomerulonephritis; inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and necrotizing enterocolitis; inflammatory dermatoses such as contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or urticaria; fever and myalgias due to infection; central or peripheral nervous system inflammatory disorders such as meningitis, encephalitis, and brain or spinal cord injury due to minor trauma; Sjögren's syndrome; diseases involving leukocyte diapedesis; alcoholic hepatitis; bacterial pneumonia; antigen-antibody complex mediated diseases; hypovolemic shock; Type I diabetes mellitus; acute and delayed hypersensitivity; disease states due to leukocyte dyscrasia and metastasis; thermal injury; granulocyte transfusion associated syndromes; and cytokine-induced toxicity.

The method has particular utility in treating humans who are or may be subject to reperfusion injury, i.e., injury resulting from situations in which a tissue or organ experiences a period of ischemia followed by reperfusion. The term “ischemia” refers to localized tissue anemia due to obstruction of the inflow of arterial blood. Transient ischemia followed by reperfusion characteristically results in neutrophil activation and transmigration through the endothelium of the blood vessels in the affected area. Accumulation of activated neutrophils in turn results in generation of reactive oxygen metabolites, which damage components of the involved tissue or organ. This phenomenon of “reperfusion injury” is commonly associated with conditions such as vascular stroke (including global and focal ischemia), hemorrhagic shock, myocardial ischemia or infarction, organ transplantation, and cerebral vasospasm. To illustrate, reperfusion injury occurs at the termination of cardiac bypass procedures or during cardiac arrest when the heart, once prevented from receiving blood, begins to reperfuse. It is expected that inhibition of hPARP2 expression or activity will result in reduced amounts of reperfusion injury in such situations.

With respect to the nervous system, global ischemia occurs when blood flow to the entire brain ceases for a period. Global ischemia may result from cardiac arrest. Focal ischemia occurs when a portion of the brain is deprived of its normal blood supply. Focal ischemia may result from thromboembolytic occlusion of a cerebral vessel, traumatic head injury, edema, or brain tumor. Even if transient, both global and focal ischemia can cause widespread neuronal damage. Although nerve tissue damage occurs over hours or even days following the onset of ischemia, some permanent nerve tissue damage may develop in the initial minutes following the cessation of blood flow to the brain. Much of this damage has been attributed to glutamate toxicity and to the secondary consequences of tissue reperfusion, such as the release of vasoactive products by damaged endothelium and the release of cytotoxic products, such as free radicals and leukotrienes, by the damaged tissue.

Ischemia can also occur in the heart in myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular disorders in which the coronary arteries have been obstructed as a result of atherosclerosis, thrombus, or spasm. For example, the method of the invention is believed to be useful for treating cardiac tissue damage, particularly damage resulting from cardiac ischemia or caused by reperfusion injury in mammals.

The invention further provides a method for treating a neurological disorder, comprising administering an neuroprotective amount of an hPARP2 antagonist. Neurological disorders that are treatable by the method the present invention encompass disorders such as peripheral neuropathy caused by physical injury or disease state; head trauma such as traumatic brain injury, physical damage to the spinal cord, stroke associated with brain damage, such as vascular stroke associated with hypoxia and brain damage, global or focal cerebral ischemia, and cerebral reperfusion injury; demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and neurological disorders relating to neurodegeneration. Examples of neurological disorders further include, without limitation, trigeminal neuralgia; glossopharyngeal neuralgia; Bell's palsy; myasthenia gravis; muscular dystrophy; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); progressive muscular atrophy; progressive bulbar inherited muscular atrophy; herniated, ruptured or prolapsed invertebrate disk syndromes; cervical spondylosis; plexus disorders; thoracic outlet destruction syndromes; peripheral neuropathies such as those caused by lead, dapsone, ticks, porphyria, or Guillain-Barre syndrome; Alzheimer's disease; Huntington's Disease and Parkinson's disease. The term “neurodegenerative diseases” includes Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and ALS.

“Neuroprotective” as used herein refers to the effect of reducing, arresting, or ameliorating nervous insult, or to the effect of protecting, resuscitating, or reviving nervous tissue that has suffered nervous insult.

“Nervous tissue” as used herein refers to the various components that make up the nervous system including, without limitation, neurons, neural support cells, glia Schwann cells, vasculature contained within and supplying these structures, the central nervous system, the brain, the brain stem, the spinal cord, the junction of the central nervous system with the peripheral nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, and allied structures.

As used herein, “nervous insult” refers to any damage to nervous tissue and any disability or death resulting therefrom. The cause of nervous insult may be metabolic, toxic, neurotoxic, iatrogenic, thermal or chemical, and includes without limitation, vascular stroke, global and focal ischemia, hypoxia, cerebrovascular accident, trauma, surgery, pressure, mass effect, hemorrhage, radiation, vasospasm, neurodegenerative disease, infection, Parkinson's disease, ALS, myelination/demyelination process, epilepsy, cognitive disorder, glutamate abnormality and secondary effects thereof.

“Preventing neurodegeneration” includes the ability to prevent neurodegeneration in patients who have been diagnosed as having a neurodegenerative disease or who are at risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease. The term also encompasses preventing further neurodegeneration in patients who are already suffering from or have symptoms of a neurodegenerative disease.

As used herein “nervous function” refers to the various functions of the nervous system, which among other things provide an awareness of the internal and external environments of the body, make possible voluntary and reflex activities between the various. Structural elements of the organism, and balance the organisms response to environmental changes.

Further, according to the invention, there is provided a method of administering an hPARP2 antagonist to a human in an amount sufficient to effect a neuronal activity, particularly one that is not mediated by NMDA neurotoxicity. Such neuronal activity may consist of stimulation of damaged neurons, promotion of neuronal regeneration, prevention of neurodegeneration and treatment of a neurological disorder.

The present invention also relates to a method of treating a cardiovascular disorder in an animal, comprising administering to the animal an effective amount of a compound that inhibits hPARP2 activity. “Cardiovascular disorders” as used herein refers to those disorders that can either cause ischemia or are caused by reperfusion of the heart. Examples include, but are not limited to, coronary artery disease, angina pectoris myocardial infarction, cardiovascular tissue damage caused by cardiac arrest, cardiovascular tissue damage caused by cardiac bypass, cardiogenic shock, and related conditions that would be known by those of ordinary skill in the art or that involve dysfunction of or tissue damage to the heart or vasculature, especially, but not limited to, tissue damage related to PARP activation. The methods of the invention are especially helpful in treating the acute forms of the above cardiovascular disorders.

The invention also relates to a method of treating neoplastic tissue growth, e.g., cancer, in an animal, comprising administering to the animal an effective amount of a compound that inhibits hPARP2 activity. In this embodiment, the method may further comprise adjuvant administration of a chemotherapeutic or anti-cancer drug and/or radiation therapy.

Tumors or neoplasms include new growths of tissue in which the multiplication of cells is uncontrolled and progressive. Some such growths are benign, but others are termed “malignant,” leading to death of the organism. Malignant neoplasms or “cancers” are distinguished from benign growths in that, in addition to exhibiting aggressive cellular proliferation, cancers invade surrounding tissues and metastasize. Moreover, malignant neoplasms are characterized in that they show a greater loss of differentiation (greater “dedifferentiation”), and of their organization relative to one another and their surrounding tissues. This property is also called “anaplasia.”

Neoplasms treatable by the present invention include solid tumors, i.e., carcinomas and sarcomas. Carcinomas include those malignant neoplasms derived from epithelial cells which tend to infiltrate (invade) the surrounding tissues and give rise to metastases. Adenocarcinomas are carcinomas derived from glandular tissue or in which the tumor cells form recognizable glandular structures. Another broad category of cancers includes sarcomas, which are tumors whose cells are embedded in a fibrillar or homogeneous substance like embryonic connective tissue. The invention also enables treatment of cancers of the myeloid or lymphoid systems, including leukemias, lymphomas and other cancers that typically do not present as a tumor mass, but are distributed in the vascular or lymphoreticular systems.

The type of cancer or tumor cells amenable to treatment according to the invention include, for example, ACTH-producing tumor, acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, cancer of the adrenal cortex, bladder cancer, brain cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelocytic leukemia, colorectal cancer, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, Ewing's sarcoma, gallbladder cancer, hairy cell leukemia, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer (small and non-small cell), malignant peritoneal effusion, malignant pleural effusion, melanoma, mesothelioma, multiple myeloma, neuroblastoma, glioma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, osteosarcoma, ovarian cancer, ovarian (germ cell) cancer, pancreatic cancer, penile cancer, prostate cancer, retinoblastoma, skin cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, squamous cell carcinomas, stomach cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, trophoblastic neoplasms, uterine cancer, vaginal cancer, cancer of the vulva, and Wilm's tumor.

The invention further relates to radiosensitizing tumor cells. The term “radiosensitizer” as used herein is defined as a molecule, preferably a low molecular weight molecule, administered to a human or other animal in therapeutically effective amounts to increase the sensitivity of the cells to electromagnetic radiation and/or to promote the treatment of diseases that are treatable with electromagnetic radiation. Diseases that are treatable with electromagnetic radiation include neoplastic diseases, benign and malignant tumors, and cancerous cells. Electromagnetic radiation treatment of other diseases not listed herein is also contemplated by the present invention. The term “radiation” as used herein includes, but is not limited to, electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths in the range of 10⁻²⁰ to 10⁰ meters. Preferred embodiments of the present invention employ gamma-radiation (10⁻²⁰ to 10⁻¹³ m), X-ray radiation (10⁻¹² to 10⁻⁹ m), ultraviolet light (10 nm to 400 nm), visible light (400 nm to 700 nm), infrared radiation (700 nm to 1.0 mm), or microwave radiation (1 mm to 30 cm).

Radiosensitizers are known to increase the sensitivity of cancerous cells to the toxic effects of electromagnetic radiation. Several mechanisms for the mode of action of radiosensitizers have been suggested in the literature including: hypoxic cell radiosensitizers, e.g., 2-nitroimidazole compounds, and benzotriazine dioxide compounds) promote the reoxygenation of hypoxic tissue and/or catalyze the generation of damaging oxygen radicals; non-hypoxic cell radiosensitizers (e.g., halogenated pyrimidines) can be analogs of DNA bases and preferentially incorporate into the DNA of cancer cells and thereby promote the radiation ion-induced breaking of DNA molecules and/or prevent the normal DNA repair mechanisms; and various other potential mechanisms of action have been hypothesized for radiosensitizers in the treatment of disease.

Many cancer treatment protocols currently employ radiosensitizers activated by the electromagnetic radiation of X-rays. Examples of X-ray activated radiosensitizers include, but are not limited to, the following: metronidazole, misonidazole, desmethylmisonidazole, pimonidazole, etanidazole, nimorazole, mitomycin C, RSU 1069, SR 4233, EO9, RB 6145, nicotinamide, 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR), 5-iododeoxyuridine (IUdR), bromodeoxycytidine, fluorodeoxyuridine (FudR), hydroxyurea, cisplatin, and therapeutically effective analogs and derivatives thereof.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancers employs visible light as the radiation activator of the sensitizing agent. Examples of photodynamic radiosensitizers include, but are not limited to: hematoporphyrin derivatives, Photofrin, benzoporphyrin derivatives, NPe6, tin etioporphyrin (SnET2), pheoborbide-a, bacteriochlorophyll-a, naphthalocyanines, phthalocyanines, zinc phthalocyanine, and therapeutically effective analogs and derivatives thereof.

Radiosensitizers may be administered in conjunction with a therapeutically effective amount of one or more other compounds, including but not limited to: compounds that promote the incorporation of radiosensitizers to the target cells; compounds that control the flow of therapeutics, nutrients, and/or oxygen to the target cells; chemotherapeutic agents that act on the tumor with or without additional radiation; or other therapeutically effective compounds for treating cancer or other disease. Examples of additional therapeutic agents that may be used in conjunction with radiosensitizers include, but are not limited to: 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, 5′-amino-5′-deoxythymidine oxygen, carbogen, red cell transfusions, perfluorocarbons (e.g., Fluosol-DA), 2,3-DPG, BW12C, calcium channel blockers, pentoxyfylline, anti-angiogenesis compounds, hydralazine, and L-BSO. Examples of chemotherapeutic agents that may be used in conjunction with radiosensitizers include, but are not limited to: adriamycin, camptothecin, carboplatin, cisplatin, daunorubicin, docetaxel, doxorubicin, interferon (alpha, beta, gamma), interleukin 2, irinotecan, paclitaxel, topotecan, and therapeutically effective analogs and derivatives thereof.

The present invention further relates to use of hPARP2 antagonists in methods of:

-   -   a) treating or preventing tissue damage resulting from cell         damage or death due to necrosis or apoptosis, and conditions and         diseases related thereto including, but not limited to, renal         failure, cachexia, retinal ischemia, skin aging, osteoarthritis,         osteoporosis, chronic pain, acute pain, neuropathic pain,         muscular dystrophy or other degenerative diseases of skeletal         muscle involving replicative senescence, age-related macular         degeneration, AIDS and other immune senescence diseases, and         cancer;     -   b) extending the lifespan and proliferative capacity of cells;     -   c) altering gene expression in senescent cells by increasing         expression of young cell-specific genes and/or decreasing         expression of senescent cell-specific genes and to extend or         increase the lifespan or proliferative capacity of cells; and     -   d) treating disease or disease conditions induced or exacerbated         by cellular senescence such as skin aging.

The hparp2 polynucleotides provided by the invention also enable therapeutic applications of these polynucleotides in treating the diseases and disorders described herein whose etiology involves hPARP2 expression or activity. For example, an hparp2 antisense molecule may provide the basis for treatment of various abnormal conditions related to excessive or undesirable levels of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. Alternatively, polynucleotide sequences encoding hparp2 may provide the basis for the treatment of various abnormal conditions related to deficiency of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity.

Expression vectors derived from retroviruses, adenovirus, herpes, or vaccinia viruses, or from various bacterial plasmids, may be used for delivery of recombinant hparp2 sense or antisense molecules to the targeted cell population. Methods that are well known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct recombinant vectors containing hparp2 [see, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra, and Ausubel et al., supra]. Alternatively, recombinant hparp2 can be delivered to target cells in liposomes.

The full-length cDNA sequence, and/or its regulatory elements, enables researchers to use an hparp2 polynucleotide as a tool in sense [Youssoufian and Lodish, Mol Cell Biol 13:98–104 (1993)] or antisense [Eguchi et al., Annu Rev Biochem 60:631–52 (1991)] investigations of gene function. Oligonucleotides, designed from the cDNA or control sequences obtained from the genomic DNA, can be used in vitro or in vivo to inhibit expression. Such technology is now well known in the art, and sense or antisense oligonucleotides or larger fragments can be designed from various locations along the coding or control regions.

Additionally, hPARP2 expression can be modulated by transfecting a cell or tissue with expression vectors that express high levels of an hparp2 polynucleotide fragment in conditions where it would be preferably to block a biological activity of hPARP2. Such constructs can flood cells with untranslatable sense or antisense sequences. Even in the absence of integration into the DNA, such vectors may continue to transcribe RNA molecules until all copies of the vector are disabled by endogenous nucleases. Such transient expression may be accomplished using a non-replicating vector or a vector incorporating appropriate replication elements.

Methods for introducing vectors into cells or tissue include those methods discussed herein. In addition, several of these transformation or transfection methods are equally suitable for ex vivo therapy. Furthermore, the hparp2 polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein may be used in molecular biology techniques that have not yet been developed, provided the new techniques rely on properties of nucleotide sequences that are currently known, including but not limited to such properties as the triplet genetic code and specific base pair interactions.

Pharmaceutical Compositions

The present invention further relates to pharmaceutical compositions that comprise a chemical or biological compound (“agent”) that is active as a modulator of hPARP2 expression or activity and a biocompatible pharmaceutical carrier, adjuvant, or vehicle. The active agent in the pharmaceutical compositions may be selected from among all or portions of hparp2 polynucleotide sequences, hparp2 antisense molecules, hPARP2 polypeptides, protein, peptide, or organic modulators of hPARP2 bioactivity, such as inhibitors, antagonists (including antibodies) or agonists. Preferably, the agent is active in treating a medical condition that is mediated by or characterized by hPARP2 expression or activity. The composition can include the agent as the only active moiety or in combination with other nucleotide sequences, polypeptides, drugs, or hormones mixed with excipient(s) or other pharmaceutically acceptable carriers.

Techniques for formulation and administration of pharmaceutical compositions may be found in Remington 's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18^(th) Ed., Mack Publishing Co, Easton Pa., 1990. The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may be manufactured using any conventional method, e.g., mixing, dissolving, granulating, dragée-making, levigating, emulsifying, encapsulating, entrapping, melt-spinning, spray-drying, or lyophilizing processes. However, the optimal pharmaceutical formulation will be determined by one of skill in the art depending on the route of administration and the desired dosage. Such formulations may influence the physical state, stability, rate of in vivo release, and rate of in vivo clearance of the administered agent. Depending on the condition being treated, these pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated and administered systemically or locally.

The pharmaceutical compositions may be administered to the subject by any conventional method, including parenteral and enteral techniques. Parenteral administration modalities include those in which the composition is administered by a route other than through the gastrointestinal tract, for example, intravenous, intraarterial, intraperitoneal, intramedullary, intramuscular, intraarticular, intrathecal, and intraventricular injections. Enteral administration modalities include, for example, oral (including buccal and sublingual) and rectal administration. Transepithelial administration modalities include, for example, transmucosal administration and transdermal administration. Transmucosal administration includes, for example, enteral administration as well as nasal, inhalation, and deep lung administration; vaginal administration; and rectal administration. Transdermal administration includes passive or active transdermal or transcutaneous modalities, including, for example, patches and iontophoresis devices, as well as topical application of pastes, salves, or ointments. Surgical techniques include implantation of depot (reservoir) compositions, osmotic pumps, and the like. A preferred route of administration for treatment of inflammation would be local or topical delivery for localized inflammation such as arthritis, and intravenous delivery for reperfusion injury or for systemic conditions such as septicemia.

The pharmaceutical compositions are formulated to contain suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, and may optionally comprise excipients and auxiliaries that facilitate processing of the active compounds into preparations that can be used pharmaceutically. The administration modality will generally determine the nature of the carrier. For example, formulations for parenteral administration may comprise aqueous solutions of the active compounds in water-soluble form. Carriers suitable for parenteral administration can be selected from among saline, buffered saline, dextrose, water, and other physiologically compatible solutions. Preferred carriers for parenteral administration are physiologically compatible buffers such as Hank's solution, Ringer's solutions, or physiologically buffered saline. For tissue or cellular administration, penetrants appropriate to the particular barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Such penetrants are generally known in the art. For preparations comprising proteins, the formulation may include stabilizing materials, such as polyols (e.g., sucrose) and/or surfactants (e.g., nonionic surfactants), and the like.

Alternatively, formulations for parenteral use may comprise suspensions of the active compounds prepared as appropriate oily injection suspensions. Suitable lipophilic solvents or vehicles include fatty oils, such as sesame oil, and synthetic fatty acid esters, such as ethyl oleate or triglycerides, or liposomes. Aqueous injection suspensions may contain substances that increase the viscosity of the suspension, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sorbitol, or dextran. Optionally, the suspension may also contain suitable stabilizers or agents that increase the solubility of the compounds to allow for the preparation of highly concentrated solutions. Emulsions, e.g., oil-in-water and water-in-oil dispersions, can also be used, optionally stabilized by an emulsifying agent or dispersant (surface-active materials; surfactants). Liposomes containing the active agent may also be employed for parenteral administration.

Alternatively, the pharmaceutical compositions comprising the agent in dosages suitable for oral administration can be formulated using pharmaceutically acceptable carriers well known in the art. The preparations formulated for oral administration may be in the form of tablets, pills, capsules, cachets, dragées, lozenges, liquids, gels, syrups, slurries, suspensions, or powders. To illustrate, pharmaceutical preparations for oral use can be obtained by combining the active compounds with a solid excipient, optionally grinding the resulting mixture, and processing the mixture of granules, after adding suitable auxiliaries if desired, to obtain tablets or dragée cores. Note that oral formulations may employ liquid carriers similar in type to those described for parenteral use, e.g., buffered aqueous solutions, suspensions, and the like.

Preferred oral formulations include tablets, dragées, and gelatin capsules. These preparations may contain one or excipients, which include, without limitation:

-   -   a) diluents such as sugars, including lactose, dextrose,         sucrose, mannitol, or sorbitol;     -   b) binders such as magnesium aluminum silicate, starch from         corn, wheat, rice, potato, etc.;     -   c) cellulose materials such as methyl cellulose,         hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, and sodium carboxymethyl         cellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, gums such as gum arabic and         gum tragacanth, and proteins such as gelatin and collagen;     -   d) disintegrating or solubilizing agents such as cross-linked         polyvinyl pyrrolidone, starches, agar, alginic acid or a salt         thereof such as sodium alginate, or effervescent compositions;     -   e) lubricants such as silica, talc, stearic acid or its         magnesium or calcium salt, and polyethylene glycol;     -   f) flavorants, and sweeteners;     -   g) colorants or pigments, e.g., to identify the product or to         characterize the quantity (dosage) of active compound; and     -   h) other ingredients such as preservatives, stabilizers,         swelling agents, emulsifying agents, solution promoters, salts         for regulating osmotic pressure, and buffers.

Gelatin capsules include push-fit capsules made of gelatin, as well as soft, sealed capsules made of gelatin and a coating such as glycerol or sorbitol. Push-fit capsules can contain the active ingredient(s) mixed with fillers, binders, lubricants, and/or stabilizers, etc. In soft capsules, the active compounds may be dissolved or suspended in suitable fluids, such as fatty oils, liquid paraffin, or liquid polyethylene glycol with or without stabilizers.

Dragée cores can be provided with suitable coatings such as concentrated sugar solutions, which may also contain gum arabic, talc, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, carbopol gel, polyethylene glycol, and/or titanium dioxide, lacquer solutions, and suitable organic solvents or solvent mixtures.

The pharmaceutical composition may be provided as a salt of the active agent, which can be formed with many acids, including but not limited to hydrochloric, sulfuric, acetic, lactic, tartaric, malic, succinic, etc. Salts tend to be more soluble in aqueous or other protonic solvents that are the corresponding free base forms.

To be effective therapeutically in modulating central nervous system targets, the agents used in the methods of the invention should readily penetrate the blood brain barrier when peripherally administered. Compounds that cannot penetrate the blood brain barrier, however, can still be effectively administered by an intravenous route.

As noted above, the characteristics of the agent itself and the formulation of the agent can influence the physical state, stability, rate of in vivo release, and rate of in vivo clearance of the administered agent. Such pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information can be collected through pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies, later confirmed in humans during the course of clinical trials. Thus, for any compound used in the method of the invention, a therapeutically effective dose can be estimated initially from biochemical and/or cell-based assays. Then, dosage can be formulated in animal models to achieve a desirable circulating concentration range that modulates hPARP2 expression or activity. As human studies are conducted, further information will emerge regarding the appropriate dosage levels and duration of treatment for various diseases and conditions.

Toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of such compounds can be determined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in cell cultures or experimental animals, e.g., for determining the LD₅₀ (the dose lethal to 50% of the population) and the ED₅₀ (the dose therapeutically effective in 50% of the population). The dose ratio between toxic and therapeutic effects is the “therapeutic index,” which is typically expressed as the ratio LD₅₀/ED₅₀. Compounds that exhibit large therapeutic indices are preferred. The data obtained from such cell culture assays and additional animal studies can be used in formulating a range of dosage for human use. The dosage of such compounds lies preferably within a range of circulating concentrations that include the ED₅₀ with little or no toxicity.

For the method of the invention, any effective administration regimen regulating the timing and sequence of doses may be used. Doses of the agent preferably include pharmaceutical dosage units comprising an effective amount of the agent. As used herein, “effective amount” refers to an amount sufficient to modulate hPARP2 expression or activity and/or derive a measurable change in a physiological parameter of the subject through administration of one or more of the pharmaceutical dosage units.

Exemplary dosage levels for a human subject are of the order of from about 0.001 milligram of active agent per kilogram body weight (mg/kg) to about 100 mg/kg. Typically, dosage units of the active agent comprise from about 0.01 mg to about 10,000 mg, preferably from about 0.1 mg to about 1,000 mg, depending upon the indication, route of administration, etc. Depending on the route of administration, a suitable dose may be calculated according to body weight, body surface area, or organ size. The final dosage regimen will be determined by the attending, physician in view of good medical practice, considering various factors that modify the action of drugs, e.g., the agent's specific activity, the severity of the disease state, the responsiveness of the patient, the age, condition, body weight, sex, and diet of the patient, the severity of any infection, etc. Additional factors that may be taken into account include time and frequency of administration, drug combination(s), reaction sensitivities, and tolerance/response to therapy. Further refinement of the dosage appropriate for treatment involving any of the formulations mentioned herein is done routinely by the skilled practitioner without undue experimentation, especially in light of the dosage information and assays disclosed, as well as the pharmacokinetic data observed in human clinical trials. Appropriate dosages may be ascertained through use of established assays for determining concentration of the agent in a body fluid or other sample together with dose response data.

The frequency of dosing will depend on the pharmacokinetic parameters of the agent and the route of administration. Dosage and administration are adjusted to provide sufficient levels of the active moiety or to maintain the desired effect. Accordingly, the pharmaceutical compositions can be administered in a single dose, multiple discrete doses, continuous infusion, sustained release depots, or combinations thereof, as required to maintain desired minimum level of the agent. Short-acting pharmaceutical compositions (i.e., short half-life) can be administered once a day or more than once a day (e.g., two, three, or four times a day). Long acting pharmaceutical compositions might be administered every 3 to 4 days, every week, or once every two weeks. Pumps, such as subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, or subdural pumps, may be preferred for continuous infusion.

Compositions comprising a compound of the invention formulated in a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier may be prepared, placed in an appropriate container, and labeled for treatment of an indicated condition. Conditions indicated on the label may include treatment of inflammatory disorders, cancer, nervous tissue injury, etc. Kits are also contemplated, wherein the kit comprises a dosage form of a pharmaceutical composition and a package insert containing instructions for use of the composition in treatment of a medical condition.

The following Examples are provided to further aid in understanding the invention. The particular materials and conditions employed are intended to exemplify particular aspects of the invention and should not be construed to limit the reasonable scope thereof.

The Examples presuppose an understanding of conventional methods well-known to those persons having ordinary skill in the art to which the examples pertain, e.g., the construction of vectors and plasmids, the insertion of genes encoding polypeptides into such vectors and plasmids, or the introduction of vectors and plasmids into host cells. Such methods are described in detail in numerous publications including, for example, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989); Ausubel et al. (Eds.), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1994); and Ausubel et al. (Eds.), Short Protocols in Molecular Biology, 4^(th) ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1999).

EXAMPLE 1

Identification of a Human EST Related to Mouse parp2

Using the nucleotide sequence of mouse parp2 [National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank® Accession number AJ007780 (SEQ ID NO:22)], a search of NCBI Expressed Sequence Tags (EST) database was performed to investigate the possibility that a human homologue of the mouse PARP2 gene might exist. The EST database provides 5′ and/or 3′ nucleotide sequences for cDNA clones from a variety of tissue sources. The NCBI BLASTn (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool—nucleotide) program was used to compare the nucleotide query sequence of mouse PARP2 against a nucleotide sequence database and to identify DNA sequences in the human EST sequence database that have significant homology to mouse PARP2. This BLASTn search identified an EST sequence designated AA568817 (SEQ ID NO:3), cloned from human colon. Regions of homology of the EST to the mouse parp2 nucleic acid sequence were identified. Specifically, nucleotides 119 to 284 (nt 119–284) of AA568817 shared substantial homology with the antisense complement nt 1536–1701 of mouse parp2, being identical at 150 of 166 nucleotides (90% identity). Moreover, the amino acid sequence predicted from nt 128–283 of the antisense strand of AA568817 corresponded to a region consisting of amino acids 508 to 559 (aa 508–559) of the mouse PARP2 protein (SEQ ID NO:23), wherein the proteins were identical at 48 of the 52 amino acid positions (92% identity).

AA568817 was used in a search of the GenBank® database using the NCBI UniGene® program in order to identify other human EST sequences originating from the same gene. The UniGene® program assembles GenBank® sequences into a non-redundant set of gene-oriented clusters, with each cluster containing a group of sequences from the same gene. The UniGene® search of the human GenBank® database with AA568817 identified thirty-four human EST sequences belonging in the same gene cluster as AA568817. One of these human ESTs, designated R28358, (SEQ ID NO:4), was cloned from human placenta and contained 3′ sequence from an I.M.A.G.E (Integrated Molecular Analysis of Genome Expression Consortium) clone, designated 133650. I.M.A.G.E is a consortium coordinated by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, Calif.) that sequences cDNAs and makes them publicly available through the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Rockville, Md.). R28358 was used in a search of the ATCC database to identify EST R28562 (SEQ ID NO:5) as the 5′ sequenced end of I.M.A.G.E clone 133650.

R28358 was compared to the antisense sequence of mouse parp2. It was found that nt 110–240 of R28358 shared significant homology with nt 1563–1692 of mouse parp2 (108 of 128 nucleotides were identical; 84% identity). The antisense strand of R28358 (nt 110–160) was translated and the predicted protein was compared with mouse PARP2 protein (nt 1642–1692 translated to aa 543–559). This comparison revealed that the proteins were the same at 16 of the 17 corresponding amino acid positions (94% identity).

R28562 was compared to mouse parp2. Nucleotides 4–186 of R28562 were found to share homology with nt 952–1134 of mouse parp2 (159 of 183 nucleotides were identical; 84% identity). When nt 4–186 of R28562 were translated and the predicted protein compared with the corresponding region of mouse PARP2 protein (nt 952–1134 translated to aa 313–373), the proteins were found to be the same at 54 of 61 corresponding amino acid positions (89% identity).

EXAMPLE 2

Isolation of Full-length hPARP2-Encoding Polynucleotide

To clone the 5′ end of human hparp2, 5′ RACE analysis was performed using human Marathon™-Ready spleen and testis cDNA libraries (Clontech) as the templates. A primer corresponding to the antisense strand of EST R28562 (SEQ ID NO:6) was synthesized for use in a polymerase chain reaction with the AP1 primer (Clontech; SEQ ID NO:7) that was designed to anneal to the Marathon™ cDNA Adapters ligated to the ends of the cDNA libraries.

R28562 Antisense (SEQ ID NO:6) GTGTTGGTCCAATGGGTGTTCTGGGCTTTGTAGCTCTG AP1 (SEQ ID NO:7) CCATCCTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGC The PCR reaction contained 5 μL human spleen or testis Marathon™-Ready cDNA, 0.20 μM each primer, 0.20 mM dNTPs, 1×PCR buffer, and 1 μL of Advantage® cDNA Taq Polymerase mix (Clontech). The reaction was performed in a GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 machine (PE Applied Biosystems, Norwalk, Conn.) with the following four steps: 1) 1 cycle at 94° C. for 1 min; 2) 5 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec and 72° C. for 4 min; 3) 5 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec and 70° C. for 4 min; and 4) 25 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec, and 60° C. for 4 min. The PCR fragment, designated 5′-hPARP2, was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN, Valencia, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

5′-hPARP2 was cloned directly into pCR®2.1-TOPO vector (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.), according to the manufacturer's instructions. Because Taq polymerase has an error rate of 8.0×10⁻⁶ mutation/base pair [Cline et al., Nucleic Acids Res 24(18):3546–51 (1996)], four unique clones were sequenced and compared to eliminate the possibility of Taq polymerase-induced errors in the sequence of 5′-hPARP2. The four clones were determined to be unique by their different lengths. The differences in the lengths of the four clones indicated that they were amplified from unique clones in the Marathon™ libraries.

The four unique clones of 5′-hPARP2 were sequenced with primers that hybridized to the vector DNA:

M13 Forward TGTAAAACGACGGCCAGT (SEQ ID NO:8) M13 Reverse GGAAACAGCTATGACCATG (SEQ ID NO:9) and primers designed to anneal to the cDNA sequence:

(SEQ ID NO:10) 3-P2-SEQ1 GGCTGTACACTCTGGGTCCACAGGAGC (SEQ ID NO:11) 3-P2-SEQ2 CTTCCATGAGAGCTCGTCCATGCTGGCC (SEQ ID NO:12) 5-P2-SEQ2 GGCCAGCATGGACGAGCTCTCATGGAAG. The four individual nucleotide sequences were compiled into a consensus nucleotide sequence designated 5′-hPARP2 (SEQ ID NO:13). In the consensus nucleotide sequence of 5′-hPARP2, every base pair was present at the corresponding position in three of the four unique clones, except consensus sequence nucleotides 625, 632, and 881, which were present in two of the four unique clones.

To confirm that nucleotides 625, 632, and 881 of the 5′-hPARP2 consensus sequence were correct, two separate PCR reactions were performed using the Marathon™-Ready human testis cDNA library (Clontech) as the template. A primer corresponding to the sense strand of 5′-hPARP2 (5-P2-SEQ1; SEQ ID NO:14) and primers corresponding to the antisense strand of EST R28358 (designated hPARP2 L1 (SEQ ID NO:15) and hPARP2 L2 (SEQ ID NO:16)) were used in PCR reactions under the conditions described previously.

5-P2-SEQ1 GCTCCTGTGGACCCAGAGTGTACAGCC (SEQ ID NO:14) hPARP2 L1 ACATTCACCACAGCTGAAGG (SEQ ID NO:15) hPARP2 L2 CCACAGCTGAAGGAAATTAAAC (SEQ ID NO:16) The PCR fragments, designated P2-1 (amplified with 5-P2-SEQ1 and hPARP2 L1) and P2–9 (amplified with 5-P2-SEQ1 and hPARP2 L2), were isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

P2-1 and P2-9 were cloned directly into the pCR®2.1-TOPO vector (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. P2-1 and P2-9 were sequenced with the M13 Forward and M13 Reverse primers that hybridize to the vector DNA (SEQ ID NOs:8 and 9, respectively) and the partial nucleotide sequences of P2-1 and P2- 9 are set out in SEQ ID NO:17 and SEQ ID NO:18, respectively. Nucleotides 625, 632, and 881 of the 5′-hPARP2 consensus sequence were determined to be present in clones P2-1 and P2-9 (nucleotides 267, 274, and 523, respectively), and thus, determined to be correct. 5′-hPARP2 was determined to have an open reading frame (ORF) of 1080 nucleotides beginning at nucleotide 63. The deduced amino acid sequence from nucleotides 63–1142 of 5′-hPARP2 is set out in SEQ ID NO:19.

To clone the 3′ end of human hparp2, two separate PCR reactions were performed using the Marathon™-Ready human testis cDNA library (Clontech) as the template. A primer corresponding to the sense strand of 5′-hPARP2 (5-P2-SEQ2; SEQ ID NO:14) and primers corresponding to the antisense strand of EST R28358 (hPARP2 L1, SEQ ID NO:15; hPARP2 L2, SEQ ID NO:16) were used in PCR reactions under the conditions described previously. The PCR fragments, designated 3′-hPARP2-L1 (amplified with 5-P2-SEQ2 and hPARP2 L1) and 3′-hPARP2-L2 (amplified with 5-P2-SEQ2 and hPARP2 L2), were isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

3′-hPARP2-L1 and 3′-hPARP2-L2 were cloned directly into the pCR®2.1-TOPO vector (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Four clones of 3′-hPARP2-L1 and three clones of 3′-hPARP2-L2 were sequenced with primers that hybridized to the vector DNA (SEQ ID NO:8 and SEQ ID NO:9) to eliminate the possibility of Taq polymerase-induced errors in the sequence of 3′-hPARP2 as discussed above. The seven nucleotide sequences were compiled into a consensus nucleotide sequence, designated 3′-hPARP2, which is set out in SEQ ID NO:20.

Every base pair in the consensus nucleotide sequence of 3′-hPARP2 was present at the corresponding position in at least six of the seven clones used to compile the consensus, except nt 856–864, which were present in at least three of the 7 clones. However, the consensus sequence of nt 856–864 of 3′-hPARP2 was present in EST R28358, and thus, was determined to be correct. Nucleotides 1–193 of 3′-hPARP2 were determined to overlap with 5′-hPARP2 (nt 951–1143). 3′-hPARP2 had 671 additional nucleotides located 3′ to the overlapping region (nt 194–864). 3′-hPARP2 was determined to have an ORF of 861 nucleotides beginning at nt 1, with a stop codon beginning at nt 862. The amino acid sequence deduced from nt 1–861 of 3′-hPARP2 is set out in SEQ ID NO:21.

5′-hPARP2 (nt 1–1143) was joined with 3′-hPARP2(nt 194–864), and the resultant polynucleotide sequence was designated “hparp2” (human parp2) and is set out in SEQ ID NO:1. A comparison of the hparp2 and mouse parp2 (SEQ ID NO:22) sequences revealed that nt 306–728 of hparp2 shared substantial homology with nt 199–621 of mouse parp2 (374 of 423 nucleotides were identical; 88% identity). In addition, nt 744–1814 of hparp2 shared substantial homology with nt 625–1695 of mouse parp2 (943 of 1071 nucleotides were identical; 88% identity).

hparp2 was determined to have an ORF of 1789 nucleotides beginning at nt 63 and to have a stop codon beginning at nt 1812. The ATG beginning at nt 63 was determined to be the initiating methionine codon by the presence of upstream in frame stop codons. The deduced amino acid sequence from nt 63–1811 of hparp2 is set out in SEQ ID NO:2. hPARP2 and mouse PARP2 (SEQ ID NO:23) were the same at 489 of 558 amino acid residues (88% identity). Twenty-six amino acid residue gaps in the alignment were present: hPARP2 amino acid residues 8, 14, 45–48, 58, 68–81, and 223–226 did not align with mouse PARP2; and mouse PARP2 residue 34 did not align with hPARP2.

The human parp1 gene (SEQ ID NO:24) encodes a protein hPARP1 (SEQ ID NO:25) containing a 46 kDa amino-terminal DNA binding domain (aa 1–373 of SEQ ID NO:25) that includes two zinc-finger motifs and a nuclear localization signal [see Molinete et al., “Structure and function of the human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase,” ADP-Ribosylation Reactions, Poirier and Moreau (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992, at pp. 3–13]. hPARP2 does not contain an obvious zinc-finger DNA binding domain, but it may contain a different, yet unidentified, DNA binding domain. hPARP2 may also interact with DNA indirectly by binding to a DNA binding protein. It is also possible that hPARP2 does not interact directly or indirectly with DNA.

hPARP1 contains a central 22 kDa automodification domain (aa 373–525 of SEQ ID NO:25) that contains 15 glutamic acid residue sites, of which some or all may be sites for automodification [Pieper et al., Trends Pharmacol Sci 20:171–81 (1999)]. The automodification domain of hPARP1 does not align with hPARP2, but hPARP2 does contain 44 glutamic acid residues that may be sites for automodification.

hPARP1 [HPARP1] contains a carboxyl terminal 40 kDa catalytic domain (aa 655–1014 of SEQ ID NO:25) [Molinete et al., supra]. When an 224–583 of hPARP2 (SEQ ID NO:2) are aligned with aa 655–1014 of hPARP1, 145 of 364 amino acids are the same (40% identity). A “G-X-X-X-G-K-G” motif (SEQ ID NO:68) involved in catalytic activity also is conserved between hPARP1 (aa 888–894 of SEQ ID NO:25) and hPARP2 (aa 454–460 of SEQ ID NO:2).

EXAMPLE 3

Measurement of hPARP2 Biological Activity

PARP1 has endogenous poly(ADP) polymerase activity that is activated when PARP1 is bound to damaged DNA. This activation can be readily assayed due to the presence of an automodification domain in hPARP1 [see, e.g., Nishikimi et al., J Biol Chem 257:6102–5 (1982)]. The structural similarity of hPARP2 to hPARP1 suggests that hPARP2 will also possess poly(ADP) polymerase activity. However, structural differences in the amino terminal half of the molecules make it uncertain whether hPARP2 will be 1) activated by DNA damage, or 2) a target of automodification.

The activation of hPARP2 by DNA can be readily assessed by employing methods developed for the measurement of polymerase activity by PARP1 in the presence or absence of DNA [see, e.g., Benjamin and Gill, J Biol Chem 255:10502–8 (1980); Yoshihara, Biochem Biophys Res Commun 47:119–25 (1972)]. DNA samples may be prepared to contain single stranded or double stranded DNA, closed circular DNA, or linear DNA, with blunt, 3′-recessed, or 5′-recessed ends. The automodification of hPARP2 can readily be determined by measurement of incorporation of ADP-ribose into forms covalently attached to the hPARP2 protein using methods developed for PARP1 [e.g., Banasik et al., supra].

Alternatively, one method for the determination of hPARP2 catalytic activity, in the absence of information regarding DNA binding activity or automodification activity, is to substitute the catalytic region of hPARP2 for the catalytic region of hPARP1 in the hPARP1 cDNA. This can be accomplished using the standard tools of molecular biology. The expression and purification of such a chimeric protein allows the assessment of hPARP2 catalytic activity in a context that is independent of hPARP2-specific activation or substrates. In this case, the DNA-binding domain of hPARP1 may permit DNA-dependent activation of the hPARP2 catalytic domain. Likewise, the automodification domain of hPARP1 may serve as a target of hPARP2-mediated ADP-ribosylation.

If the ability of hPARP2 to automodify either in the form of native polypeptide or chimeric polypeptide is undetectable or difficult to detect, an alternative approach is to add to the assay heterologous proteins that might be expected to serve as a target of ADP-ribosylation [e.g., Tsopanakis et al., Eur J Biochem 90:337–45 (1978)].

Further characterization of biological activities of hPARP2 can also be obtained by ectopic expression of the hPARP2 polypeptide. Ectopic expression can be induced, for example, by transfection of hPARP2 expression vectors into cultured cell lines. Analysis of the phenotype of transiently or stably transfected cell lines can be used for the determination of biological function. Such experiments are common in the art [see, e.g., Fritz et al., Mutation Res 308:127–33 (1994)]. Conversely, targeted disruption of hPARP2 expression or activity by, for example, the use of gene activation, antisense oligonucleotides., or hPARP2-specific chemical inhibitors, can be used for the identification of hPARP2-specific biological function.

Construction of Baculovirus Expression Plasmids

The primary structure of the hparp2 polypeptide suggests that hPARP2, like hPARP1, will have poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. The PARP activity of hPARP2, or some substructure thereof, can be measured by the ability of that component to incorporate the ADP-ribose unit from NAD into polymers of ADP-ribose coupled to a protein substrate. The demonstration of such activity on a given substrate is readily accomplished by the skilled artisan [see, for example, Smith et al., Science 282:1484–1487 (1998)].

A fusion protein, designated PARP1A/PARP2B, containing aa 1–662 of hPARP1 (SEQ ID NO:25) fused upstream of aa 230–583 of hPARP2 (SEQ ID NO:2) was used in the measurement of hPARP2 poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. PARP1A/PARP2B contained the DNA binding domain (aa 1–373 of SEQ ID NO:25) and automodification domain (aa 373–525 of SEQ ID NO:25) of hPARP1 and the putative catalytic domain of hPARP2 (aa 224–583 of SEQ ID NO:2).

The PARP1A piece of the fusion protein was amplified by PCR using a primer (Sal-PARP1; SEQ ID NO:26) corresponding to the sense strand of hparp1 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1–30 of SEQ ID NO:24) and a primer (revMlu-PARP1; SEQ ID NO:27) corresponding to the antisense strand of hparp1 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1957–1985 of SEQ ID NO:24).

Sal-PARP1 (SEQ ID NO:26) CGTCGACCCATGGCGGAGTCTTCGGATAAGCTCTATCGA revMlu-PARP1 (SEQ ID NO:27) GGAAACGCGTTTGGTGCCAGGATTTACTGTCAGCTTCTT The PCR reaction contained 0.5 μL of human thymus or testis QUICK-Clone™ cDNA (Clontech), 0.25 μM each primer, 0.20 mM dNTPs, 1×PCR buffer, and 1 μL of Clontech Advantage® polymerase mix. The reactions were performed in a GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 machine (PE Applied Biosystems) with the following steps: 1) 1 cycle at 94° C. for 1 min; 2) 30 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec, 60° C. for 2 min, and 72° C. for 2 min; and 3) 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 min. The PCR fragment (designated hparp1A) was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) according to the manufacturer's instructions. hparp1A was subcloned into the pTrcHis2™-Topo™ vector (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. hparp1A was digested from pTrcHis2™-Topo™ with SalI and MluI, the fragment isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN), and saved for further subcloning described below.

The PARP2B piece of the fusion protein was amplified by PCR using a primer (for Mlu-PARP2; SEQ ID NO:28) corresponding to the sense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 750–776 of SEQ ID NO:1) and a primer (PARP2-Strep-Not; SEQ ID NO:29) corresponding to the antisense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1771–1811 of SEQ ID NO:1).

forMlu-PARP2 (SEQ ID NO:28) TTGAAACGCGTTCCAGAGTCACAGCTAGATCTTCGGGTA PARP2-Strep-Not (SEQ ID NO:29) GTCTCGAAAGCGGCCGCTTAGCCTCCGAACTGTGGATGCCTCCACGCCCA CAGCTGAAGGAAATTAAACTGAACCTTTAAAAGGTACC The PCR reaction contained 100 ng hparp2 cDNA, 0.25 μM each primer, 0.20 mM dNTPs, 1×PCR buffer, and 1 μL of Clontech Advantage® polymerase mix. The reactions were performed in a GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 machine (PE Applied Biosystems) with the following steps: 1) 1 cycle at 94° C. for 1 min; 2) 30 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec, 60° C. for 2 min, and 72° C. for 2 min; and 3) 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 min. The PCR fragment (designated hparp2B) was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The hparp2B fragment was cloned into the pcDNA3.1/NT-GFP-TOPO™ vector (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

hparp2B was digested from pcDNA3.1/NT-GFP-TOPO™ with MluI and NotI and subcloned with SalI/MluI digested hparp1A (see above) into a pFASTBAC vector (Gibco BRL, Rockville, Md.) that had previously been digested with SalI and NotI. The resultant plasmid was designated pFB-PARP1A/PARP2B.

pFB-PARP1A/PARP2B was sequenced with primers designed to anneal to the vector sequence (SEQ ID NOs:30 and 31) and primers designed to anneal to the cDNA sequence (SEQ ID NOs:6, 11, and 32–45).

Vector primers for PARP1A/PARP2B (SEQ ID NO:30) FastBac for TTTGTTCGCCCAGACTC (SEQ ID NO:31) FastBac rev TATGTTTCAGGTTCAGGGGGAG cDNA Primers for PARP1A/PARP2B (SEQ ID NO:32) P1 GCGGAAGCTGGAGGAGTGAC (SEQ ID NO:33) P2 GTCACTCCTCCAGCTTCCGC (SEQ ID NO:34) P3 AAGCCCTGAAGAAGCAGCTC (SEQ ID NO:35) P4 GAGCTGCTTCTTCAGGGCTT (SEQ ID NO:36) P5 CAGACACCCAACCGGAAGGA (SEQ ID NO:37) P6 TCCTTCCGGTTGGGTGTCTG (SEQ ID NO:38) P7 TCCGCCTCCACCAAGAGCCT (SEQ ID NO:39) P8 AGGCTCTTGGTGGAGGCGGA (SEQ ID NO:40) P9 TGGCCTGGTGGACATCGTTA (SEQ ID NO:41) P10 TAACGATGTCCACCAGGCCA (SEQ ID NO:11) 3-P2-SEQ2 CTTCCATGAGAGCTCGTCCATGCTGGCC (SEQ ID NO:6) 3-PARP2 GTGTTGGTCCAATGGGTGTTCTGGGCTTTGTAGCTCTG (SEQ ID NO:42) AA#5 GTATTCTTTAGGCGAGAGGC (SEQ ID NO:43) H23985-5 TGACGAAGTGGGCAGAACTG (SEQ ID NO:44) PARP2U2 REV GAGCACCCCCTGGACCAGCAC (SEQ ID NO:45) AA#3 ACAGCGACTATACCATGACC The nucleotide sequence of PARP1A/PARP2B is set out in SEQ ID NO:46, and the amino acid sequence of PARP1A/PARP2B is set out in SEQ ID NO:47. PARP1A/PARP2B consists of the following regions: a His tag leader region at aa 1–36; a hPARP1 region at aa 37–698; a spacer region from amino acids 699 to 700; a hPARP2 region at aa 701–1054; and a Strep-tag region at aa 1055–1063.

In addition to PARP1A/PARP2B, a full-length hPARP2 protein fused to a poly-His tag (FB-hPARP2) was constructed for use in the measurement of hPARP2 poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. The construction of FB-hPARP2 was carried out as follows.

A carboxyl region of hparp2 was isolated by digesting the pFB-PARP1A/PARP2B plasmid with SalI and SacI to remove the hPARP1 region. This hPARP2 region (pFB-PARP2B-Sal/Sac) was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) and saved for further subcloning described below.

An amino terminal region of hPARP2 was amplified by PCR using a primer (Sal-PARP2; SEQ ID NO:48) corresponding to the sense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 63–92 of SEQ ID NO:1) and a primer (revMlu-PARP2; SEQ ID NO:49) corresponding to the antisense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 720–748 of SEQ ID NO:1).

Sal-PARP2 (SEQ ID NO:48) CGTCGACCCATGGCGGCGCGGCGGCGACGGAGCACCGGC revMlu-PARP2 (SEQ ID NO:49) TGGAACGCGTTTCAAGGGAGATTTAAGAGATTCCTCTTT The PCR reaction contained 100 ng of hparp2 cDNA, 0.25 μM each primer, 0.20 mM dNTPs, 1×PCR buffer, and 1 μL of Clontech Advantage® polymerase mix. The reactions were performed in a GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 machine (PE Applied Biosystems) with the following steps: 1) 1 cycle at 94° C. for 1 min; 2) 30 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec, 60° C. for 2 min, and 72° C. for 2 min; and 3) 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 min. The PCR fragment (designated hparp2-Sal/Mlu) was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) according to the manufacturer's instructions. hparp2-Sal/Mlu was subcloned into the pTrcHis2™-Topo™ vector (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The resultant plasmid, pTrcHis2-hparp2-Sal/Mlu, was digested with SalI and AvaII, and an hparp2 fragment (designated hparp2-Sal/Ava) was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN) and saved for further subcloning described below.

A central region of hparp2 was isolated from hparp2 cDNA by digesting with AvaII and SacI. The fragment (designated hparp2-Ava/Sac) was isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN).

pFB-PARP2B-Sal/Sac, hparp2-Sal/Ava, and hparp2-Ava/Sac were ligated to produce pFB-hparp/Strep-tag. The Strep-tag was removed from pFB-hparp/Strep-tag by digestion with KpnI, yielding a plasmid designated pFB-hparp-Kpn. The KpnI digestion also removed the last 14 amino acids of hPARP2. To replace this missing region, a fragment was PCR amplified using a primer (5-P2-Kpn; SEQ ID NO:50) corresponding to the sense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1757–1776 of SEQ ID NO:1) and a primer (3-P2-Kpn; SEQ ID NO:51) corresponding to the antisense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1799–1814 of SEQ ID NO:1).

(SEQ ID NO:50) 5-P2-Kpn CCAGGTCCGTATGCGGTACC (SEQ ID NO:51) 3-P2-Kpn GCCACGATGGGTACCGCGGCCGCTCACCACAGCTGAAGG The PCR reaction contained 100 ng hparp2 cDNA, 0.5 μM each primer, 0.25 mM dNTPs, 1×PCR buffer, and 2.5 U of PfuTurbo® polymerase mix (Stratagene). The reactions were performed in a GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 machine (PE Applied Biosystems) with the following steps: 1) 1 cycle at 94° C. for 1 min; 2) 25 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec, 55° C. for 30 sec, and 72° C. for 30 sec; and 3) 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 min. The PCR fragment was digested with KpnI, isolated using gel electrophoresis and a QIAquick® Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN), and ligated with pFB-hparp-Kpn to produce pFB-hparp2.

pFB-hparp2 was sequenced with primers designed to anneal to the vector sequence (SEQ ID NOs:30 and 31) and primers designed to anneal to the cDNA sequence (SEQ ID NOs:11, 12, 42, and 52–57).

cDNA primers for pFB-hparp2 (SEQ ID NO:11) 3-P2-SEQ2 CTTCCATGAGAGCTCGTCCATGCTGGCC (SEQ ID NO:12) 5-SEQ-2 GGCCAGCATGGACGAGCTCTCATGGAAG (SEQ ID NO:42) AA#5 GTATTCTTTAGGCGAGAGGC (SEQ ID NO:52) AA#1 GGTGACGAAGTGGGCAGAAC (SEQ ID NO:53) AA#2 TTCTGCCCACTTCGTCACCC (SEQ ID NO:54) AA#4 CGCAAGGCACAATGTAGGTT (SEQ ID NO:55) AA#6 GCCTCTCGCCTAAAGAATAC (SEQ ID NO:56) H2 AAGCAATCCTTCGGCCTTAG (SEQ ID NO:57) H6 AGTTCTGCCCACTTCGTCAC The nucleotide sequence of pFB-hparp2 is set out in SEQ ID NO:58 and the corresponding amino acid sequence of FB-hPARP2 is set out in SEQ ID NO:59. FB-hPARP2 contains a His tag leader region at aa 1–36. Amino acids 37–619 of FB-hPARP2 represent full-length hPARP2. Production of Recombinant Viral Stocks and Protein Purification

PARP1A/PARP2B and FB-hPARP2 recombinant viral stocks were separately produced using the FastBac system (Gibco BRL) according to the manufacturer's suggested protocol and protein expression was carried out as follows. Sƒ9 cells were grown at 27° C. in CCM3 medium (Hyclone, Logan, Utah) containing 50 U/mL penicillin and 50 μg/mL streptomycin sulfate (Gibco BRL). Exponentially growing cells were infected at a multiplicity of infection of approximately 0.5 virus per cell and incubated for 48 hr. Cells were collected by centrifugation at 1000×g for 15 min, and the pellets were frozen and stored at −80° C. until use.

For protein purification, reagents were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, Mo.), unless otherwise indicated. Cells were lysed in Lysis buffer (25 mM Tris-HCl, pH 9.0, 50 mM glucose, 10 mM EDTA, 1 mM 2-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM PMSF, 100 μM antipain, and 2 μg/mL aprotinin) by sonication. Igepal CA-630 (final concentration of 0.2%), Tween®-20 (final concentration of 0.2%), and NaCl (final concentration of 0.5 M) were added to the Lysis buffer and the samples were agitated for 30 min at 4° C. The supernatants were collected after centrifugation at 20,000×g for 20 min at 4° C. at which time they were treated with 1 mg/mL protamine sulfate and allowed to stir for 1 hr at 4° C. The supernatants were collected after centrifugation at 4,000×g for 20 min at 4° C. at which time the protein was precipitated with 70% ammonium sulfate for 1 hr at 4° C. Protein pellets were collected by centrifugation at 20,000×g for 15 min at 4° C. and resuspended in Re-suspension buffer (100 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 0.5 mM EDTA, 10% glycerol, 1 mM PMSF, and 12 mM 2-mercaptoethanol).

Proteins were first purified via the His tag using TALON™ Superflow Metal Affinity Resin (Clontech) and eluted with 200 mM imidazole (Clontech) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The protein elutions were next purified using a 3-aminobenzamide Affi-Gel® matrix (Bio-Rad Laboratories) prepared as described elsewhere [D'Amours et al., Anal Biochem 249:106–8 (1997)]. Proteins were eluted with 10 mM 3-methoxybenzamide in Elution buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 0.3 M NaCl, 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM PMSF, 100 μM antipain, and 2 μg/mL aprotinin). The proteins were dialyzed 4× in 1 L Dialysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 4 mM MgCl₂, 10 mM EDTA, 1 mM PMSF, and 2 μg/mL aprotinin). Glycerol was added to a final concentration of 10% and the proteins were stored at −80° C.

Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Activity

For poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity assays, reagents were obtained from Sigma, unless otherwise indicated. PARP1A/PARP2B (250 ng) or FB-hPARP2 (25 ng) protein was incubated for 10 min at room temperature in assay buffer (total volume of 20 μL) containing 100 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 1 mM MgCl₂, 10% glycerol, 1.5 mM dithiothreitol (Boehringer Mannheim/Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Indianapolis, Ind.), 2.5 μM unlabeled NAD⁺, 16.7 μg/mL E. coli Strain B DNA, and 0.33 μCi gamma-[³²P]-NAD⁺ (NEN, Boston, Mass.). Reactions were stopped by boiling in SDS running buffer and separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Autoradiography was used to visualize labeled protein. Addition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymers to protein substrate results in an increase in molecular weight of the protein, and subsequently causes the protein to run higher on SDS-PAGE. Also, the level of poly(ADP-ribose) polymers added to the protein substrate can vary with each single protein molecule, resulting in labeled protein with different molecular weights and visualized on the autoradiography film as a ladder or smear [for example, see Smith et al. (1998), supra]. Both PARP1A/PARP2B and FB-hPARP2 possessed intrinsic poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity as shown by their ability produce poly(ADP-ribose) polymers. The PARP1A/PARP2B poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase reaction produced a ladder of labeled protein approximately from 174 kDa to 200 kDa. The FB-hPARP2 poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase reaction produced a ladder of labeled protein approximately from 136 kDa to 250 kDa.

EXAMPLE 4

Preparation of Antibodies Immunoreactive with hPARP2 Polypeptides

The present invention provides for antibodies with specificity for hPARP2 polypeptides. Antibodies to hPARP2 may be produced by any method known in the art, typically including, for example, the immunization of laboratory animals with preparations of purified native hPARP2, purified recombinant hPARP2, purified recombinant peptide fragments of hPARP2, or synthetic peptides derived from the hPARP2 predicted amino acid sequence. In order to maximize the probability of obtaining antibodies with appropriate specificity for hPARP2, regions of the polypeptide may be selected for use as an immunogen based upon differences in those regions between hPARP1 and hPARP2. For example, amino acid residues 1–86 are substantially different between hPARP1 and hPARP2, and this region can be expressed as a truncated polypeptide in an appropriate expression system for use as an immunogen or to test polyclonal or monoclonal antibody preparations. Similar approaches can be applied to other regions of the hPARP2 polypeptide. Likewise, synthetic peptides can be made corresponding to selected regions of hPARP2, and such peptides can be used to generate specific polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies by methods known in the art [see, e.g., Harlow et al., supra].

Two regions in the carboxyl region of hPARP2 (designated hPARP2 U1 and hPARP2 U2) were chosen as immunogens in antibody development. hparp2 U1 was amplified by PCR using a primer (5-PARP2 U1; SEQ ID NO:60) corresponding to the sense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1074–1093 of SEQ ID NO:1) and a primer (PARP2 L2; SEQ ID NO:16) corresponding to the antisense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1790–1811 of SEQ ID NO:1). hparp2 U2 was amplified by PCR using a primer (5-PARP2 U2; SEQ ID NO:61) corresponding to the sense strand of hparp2 polynucleotide sequence (nt 1125–1145 of SEQ ID NO:1) and the same antisense primer (PARP2 L2; SEQ ID NO:16) used for hparp2 U1.

5-PARP2 U1 GGAGACATTGAAATTGCTAT (SEQ ID NO:60) 5-PARP2 U2 GAACACCCATTGGACCAACAC (SEQ ID NO:61) The PCR reaction contained 100 ng hparp2 cDNA, 0.5 μM each primer, 0.25 mM dNTPs, 1×PCR buffer, and 2.5 U of PfuTurbo® polymerase mix (Stratagene). The reactions were performed in a GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 machine (PE Applied Biosystems) with the following steps: 1) 1 cycle at 94° C. for 1 min; 2) 25 cycles of 94° C. for 30 sec, 55° C. for 2 min, and 72° C. for 2 min; and 3) 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 min. The PCR fragments were subcloned into the pTrcHis2™-Topo™ vector (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. hparp2 U1 and hparp2 U2 were sequenced with primers designed to anneal to the vector (SEQ ID NOs:62 and 63).

pTrcHis Forward GAGGTATATATTAATGTATCG (SEQ ID NO:62) pTrcHis Reverse GATTTAATCTGTATCAGG (SEQ ID NO:63) The polynucleotide sequence of hparp2 U1 is set out in SEQ ID NO:64 and the amino acid sequence (hPARP2 U1) is set out in SEQ ID NO:65. hPARP2 U1 includes aa 338–583 of hPARP2 (SEQ ID NO:2). The polynucleotide sequence of hparp2 U2 is set out in SEQ ID NO:66 and the amino acid sequence (hPARP2 U2) is set out in SEQ ID NO:67. hPARP2 U2 includes aa 355–583 of hPARP2 (SEQ ID NO:2).

hPARP2 U1 and hPARP2 U2 poly-His fusion proteins were expressed separately in E. coli and were induced with 1 mM IPTG at 37° C. hPARP2 U1 and hPARP2 U2 proteins were isolated from inclusion bodies using B-PER™ Bacterial Protein Extraction Reagent (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Each of five 6 to 12 week old Balb/c mice were pre-bled on day 0 and injected with 30 μg per mouse of a mixture of hPARP2 U1 and hPARP2 U2 in Freund's complete adjuvant. Subsequent boosts were made on day 21 and 63 in Freund's incomplete adjuvant. Mice were test bled on day 73 and the bleeds were screened by ELISA, using standard methods, on plates coated with PARP1A/PARP2B (described above). Specific antibody was detected using goat anti-mouse IgG(fc) horseradish peroxidase conjugate.

ELISA reactive mouse sera are tested in Western analysis using standard methods. The spleens of mice reactive to FB-hPARP2 protein in the Western analysis are removed and fused to NS-1 cells by standard methods [Harlow and Lane, Antibodies, a Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1988)] to produce monoclonal antibodies.

All publications and patent documents cited in this specification are incorporated herein by reference for all that they disclose.

While the present invention has been described with specific reference to certain preferred embodiments for purposes of clarity and understanding, it will be apparent to the skilled artisan that further changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the invention as it is defined in the claims set forth below. Accordingly, no limitations should be placed on the invention other than those specifically recited in the claims. 

1. A purified and isolated human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 2 polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence defined by SEQ ID NO:
 2. 